Tupac Shakur Murder: Ex-Gang Boss Duane Davis Found Guilty After 30 Years

Former gang boss Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been found guilty of orchestrating the murder of star rapper Tupac Shakur three decades ago, on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas, reported BBC. 

Shakur was 25 when he was murdered at the height of his career as one of rap's most influential voices. He has sold more than 75 million records worldwide.

The jury found Davis guilty of one count of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the rap superstar's death in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996.

Prosecutors had argued during the trial that although Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang, did not fire the gun that killed Shakur, he ordered the shooting and supplied the weapon that his nephew Orlando Anderson used for the murder.

They told the court that Davis had planned the shooting as retaliation after Anderson was involved in a fight with Shakur and the rapper's crew in Las Vegas just hours before his murder.

For 30 years, the case remained one of America's most famous cold cases. This is the first time a court has announced a verdict in the case.

Clad in a black suit, the 63-year-old Davis stood in the Las Vegas courtroom as the verdict was read. He said he would appeal, while Shakur's relatives shed tears, hugged each other.

Shakur's murder happened at a time of intense rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast rap scenes and amid gang feuds between the Bloods and Crips, which had deep roots within hip-hop at the time.

The key evidence in the case was Davis' own words, in which he repeatedly and publicly acknowledged being inside the white Cadillac from which the deadly shots were fired.

He had told authorities about his role in Shakur's death during a secret 2008 police interview related to the death of fellow rapper Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace.

Davis elaborated further on his role in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend.