By Segun Adebayo
Nearly three decades after the killing of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been found guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the 1996 shooting that claimed the rapper’s life.
A Las Vegas jury returned the verdict on Monday, August 31, 2026, after deliberating for about three hours, bringing the first conviction in one of the most notorious unsolved murder cases in music history.
Davis, 63, was convicted of murder with the use of a deadly weapon.
Prosecutors had accused him of orchestrating the drive-by shooting that killed Shakur, although they did not allege that he personally fired the fatal shots.
The prosecution argued that Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, supplied the firearm and directed the attack after Shakur and members of his entourage were involved in a fight with Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas earlier that night.
According to prosecutors, Davis and three other men later searched for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight before pulling alongside their vehicle at a Las Vegas intersection and opening fire.
Shakur was struck by multiple bullets on September 7, 1996, while riding in a BMW driven by Knight.
He died six days later at the age of 25. Knight survived the attack.
Davis became the sole person ever charged in connection with Shakur’s murder after Las Vegas police arrested him in September 2023, 27 years after the shooting.
Prosecutors relied heavily on Davis’ own past statements, including interviews, recorded conversations and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, in which he described his involvement in the events surrounding the shooting.
His defence, however, argued that Davis’ statements were exaggerated or fictionalised for money and self-protection, insisting that there was no physical evidence directly linking him to the shooting.
The jury ultimately rejected the defence’s arguments and found Davis guilty, ending nearly 30 years of speculation, conspiracy theories and unanswered questions surrounding the death of one of hip-hop’s most influential figures.
Davis faces a possible life sentence, with sentencing scheduled for October 13, 2026.
He has indicated that he would appeal the conviction.