Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur, becoming the first person convicted in a case that remained unsolved for nearly three decades.
A Las Vegas jury reached the verdict on Monday, August 31, 2026, after deliberating for less than three hours following a weeks-long trial at Clark County District Court.
Davis, 63, was convicted of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon in connection with Shakur’s death. He faces the possibility of life in prison.
The verdict marks a major development in one of the most closely watched murder cases in music history.
Davis was accused of orchestrating the attack
Prosecutors did not allege that Davis personally fired the shots that killed Shakur.
Instead, they argued that Davis organised the attack, obtained the firearm and helped facilitate the shooting as an act of retaliation after Shakur and members of his entourage assaulted Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas earlier on September 7, 1996.
Under Nevada law, prosecutors were able to pursue Davis for murder even though he was not alleged to have pulled the trigger.
The prosecution portrayed the shooting as a planned act of revenge. Prosecutors argued that Davis and other members of his group went looking for Shakur after the confrontation at the MGM Grand.
Tupac was shot on the Las Vegas Strip
Shakur, who was 25, was travelling in a BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight after attending the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon boxing match at the MGM Grand.
A white Cadillac carrying Davis and other men pulled alongside the BMW near the Las Vegas Strip.
Gunfire was then directed at the vehicle.
Shakur was struck four times and was taken to hospital. He died six days later, on September 13, 1996.
Knight was also wounded in the attack but survived.
The shooting became one of the most notorious unsolved killings in hip-hop, generating years of speculation about gang rivalries, the so-called East Coast-West Coast feud and the people who may have been responsible.
Davis’ own words became central to the case
A significant part of the prosecution’s case came from statements Davis made over many years.
Davis had spoken publicly about his involvement in the events surrounding Shakur’s killing and described aspects of the shooting in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend.
Prosecutors also presented recordings of Davis speaking about the incident during interviews with investigators and other occasions.
The prosecution argued that Davis’ repeated accounts showed that he was directly involved in organising the attack.
Prosecutors presented hours of recordings and argued that Davis had repeatedly acknowledged his role in the events leading to Shakur’s death.
The defence challenged that interpretation.
Davis’ lawyers argued that his stories had been exaggerated or fabricated for publicity and financial gain. They also questioned the investigation and argued that prosecutors lacked physical evidence independently proving that Davis was involved in the shooting.
A former Las Vegas police detective who testified during the trial said investigators had not been able to independently verify some of Davis’ incriminating statements.
Despite those arguments, jurors ultimately found Davis guilty.
The gunman was not convicted
Davis’ conviction does not mean the identity of the person who actually fired the fatal shots has been established through a criminal conviction.
Prosecutors maintained that Davis was responsible for organising the attack, while another person inside the Cadillac fired at Shakur’s vehicle.
Anderson, Davis’ nephew, was among those linked to the vehicle and was long suspected of involvement in the shooting. He died in an unrelated shooting in 1998.
The other men prosecutors associated with the Cadillac have also died, leaving Davis as the only person prosecuted in connection with the killing.
Arrest came nearly 27 years after Shakur’s death
For years, the investigation failed to produce criminal charges.
That changed after Davis’ public statements brought renewed attention to the case.
Police arrested Davis in September 2023, nearly 27 years after Shakur was killed.
His arrest transformed a decades-old mystery into a criminal prosecution and ultimately led to the first conviction in the case.
During the trial, prosecutors relied heavily on Davis’ own accounts, while his defence sought to persuade jurors that those accounts were unreliable.
The jury ultimately sided with the prosecution.
A landmark verdict for hip-hop
Shakur’s death had a profound impact on hip-hop.
Born in New York in 1971, the rapper became one of the most influential and commercially successful artists of his generation. His music frequently addressed poverty, racism, police brutality, violence and social inequality.
His death at 25, at the height of his career, cemented his status as a cultural icon.
For almost 30 years, the circumstances surrounding his killing remained the subject of intense public fascination and countless theories.
Davis’ conviction now provides the first criminal judgment in the case.
However, important questions remain about the precise roles of everyone involved in the attack and the identity of the person who fired the fatal shots.
For Shakur’s family, supporters and generations of fans, the verdict nevertheless represents a significant moment in a case that had remained unresolved since 1996.
Davis now awaits sentencing and could receive a life sentence.
