Duane 'Keffe D' Davis Convicted in 1996 Tupac Shakur Killing

A Las Vegas jury has found Duane "Keffe D" Davis guilty of orchestrating the 1996 murder of rap icon Tupac Shakur, delivering the first conviction in a case that has haunted hip-hop culture for nearly three decades.

The 63-year-old Davis was convicted on a single count of murder with a deadly weapon following a weekslong trial. The jury, which included four alternates, deliberated for less than three hours before reaching its verdict on Monday. Davis now faces a possible life sentence.

During closing arguments, Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal painted Davis as the orchestrator of a retaliatory attack. Palal argued that Davis acquired a firearm and "went hunting" for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight after an earlier altercation involving Davis's nephew. While acknowledging that Davis's own accounts of the night had shifted over the years, Palal stressed that one detail remained constant: Davis repeatedly placed himself inside the white Cadillac from which the fatal shots were fired.

Emotions ran high in the courtroom as the verdict was read. Shakur's sister, Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur, embraced prosecutors in tears, while Davis's son sat with his face covered.

The trial heard from 24 prosecution witnesses and three defense witnesses over nine days. Prosecutors later confirmed they would drop the gang enhancement portion of the charge due to witness logistics.

Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, while stopped at a red light in Las Vegas. He died six days later. Knight was also wounded but survived. For years, the case remained unsolved until Davis made public statements admitting he was in the Cadillac and had supplied the gun to others in the vehicle. Under Nevada law, an individual who aids another in committing murder can be held liable for the crime. Davis is the last surviving person among the four men prosecutors say were in the car.