A jury found Duane 'Keffe D' Davis guilty of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur, marking the first conviction in a case that has gripped hip-hop fans for decades.
The 63-year-old Davis was convicted of murder with the use of a deadly weapon and could be sentenced to life in prison. The jury deliberated for three hours after a weekslong trial in Las Vegas.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors in closing arguments that Davis acquired a gun and "went hunting" for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion 'Suge' Knight after they beat up Davis' nephew earlier that night.
Palal acknowledged that Davis' accounts of the killing evolved over the years but argued those differences reflected Davis' changing motivations and efforts to protect himself. One critical detail, he said, remained consistent: Davis repeatedly placed himself inside a white Cadillac from which the shots were fired.
"The core facts remain. The material facts remain," Palal said.
Davis' defence attorney, Michael Sanft, challenged jurors to identify evidence outside Davis' own statements that placed him in Las Vegas or inside the Cadillac on the night Shakur was shot. He pointed to the absence of surveillance footage, phone records and other evidence putting Davis there.
"They have nothing in this case that says that man was here in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996," Sanft said, pointing toward Davis.
Decades-old case has drawn the attention of hip-hop fans and crime experts alike
Davis, 63, faced a single count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Shakur's killing.
The panel of 16 jurors, four of whom are alternates, heard testimony from 24 prosecution witnesses and three defence witnesses over nine days.
The trial brings to a head a decades-old case that for years has drawn the eyes of hip-hop fans and true crime experts alike. Shakur, who was considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, was in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, and stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up beside him, and shots were fired. He died six days later from his wounds. Knight was also wounded but survived.
Jury selected almost 30 years after the rap legend was gunned down near the Las Vegas Strip. (Source: 1News)
For years, nobody had been charged in the rapper's death until Davis began making public statements, saying he was in the Cadillac and gave the gun to others in the backseat. Davis described the shooting as an act of retaliation after Knight and Shakur's entourage beat up Davis' nephew hours before the shooting.
Under Nevada law, someone who helps another person commit murder can be convicted of the crime. Davis is the only person still alive among the four men prosecutors say were in the Cadillac. The man who prosecutors say originally gave the gun to Davis is also dead.
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