LOS ANGELES (AP) — For nearly three decades, the killing of Tupac Shakur was one of hip-hop’s most enduring mysteries, a case marked by reluctant witnesses, dead suspects and questions about whether anyone would ever be held accountable.
In the end, some of the most damaging evidence against the only man ever charged came from the man himself.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis spent years talking about the 1996 shooting with many people, including investigators, filmmakers and interviewers and through his memoir, “Compton Street Legend.” Prosecutors used those accounts to build a murder case against him, while his attorney argued Davis had been telling stories for money and notoriety.
A Las Vegas jury settled that argument Monday, convicting Davis of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon, and he could be sentenced to life in prison. After less than three hours of deliberation, Davis, 63, was ordered held without bail and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 13.
The verdict marked the first conviction in Shakur’s killing, nearly 30 years after the 25-year-old rap superstar was gunned down while riding in a car near the Las Vegas Strip.
Here’s what to know about the case, the evidence that led to Davis’ conviction and what happens next.
Why was Davis convicted of Tupac Shakur’s murder?
The prosecution’s case centered on Davis’ own words.
Over the years, Davis repeatedly placed himself inside the white Cadillac that pulled alongside Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight on Sept. 7, 1996. In interviews with law enforcement and later public accounts, Davis described obtaining a gun and passing it to the backseat before shots were fired.
Prosecutors did not accuse Davis of pulling the trigger. Instead, they argued he organized the group, provided the gun and helped carry out a retaliatory attack after Shakur and Knight’s entourage beat Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand earlier that night.
Daily News front page headline Sept. 14, 1996, Tupac Shakur dies of gunshot wounds, RAP REQUIEM (Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Under Nevada law, someone who aids or helps another person commit murder can also be held criminally responsible.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal acknowledged during closing arguments that details in Davis’ accounts changed over the years. But he argued the central story remained intact.
“The core facts remain. The material facts remain,” Palal told jurors.
The jury agreed, finding Davis guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon after less than three hours of deliberation.
What did Davis say about the shooting?
Davis began providing some of his most consequential details during a 2008 interview with law enforcement while authorities were investigating the 1997 killing of Shakur’s rap rival, The Notorious B.I.G.
Davis said he was riding in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac with three other men, including his nephew. He described spotting Shakur and Knight, making a U-turn and pulling alongside their BMW.
“If we would have been on my side, I would have blasted,” Davis told investigators. Instead, Davis said, he passed the gun to the backseat.
He later spoke publicly about the killing and described it in his 2019 memoir. Prosecutors played jurors an interview in which Davis promoted the book as a way to get the “real truth.”
Davis’ accounts varied on some details, including who ultimately fired the shots. But prosecutors emphasized that he repeatedly put himself inside the Cadillac and described his role in supplying the weapon.
Those public statements proved critical.
Why did it take nearly 30 years to bring charges?
Police had long suspected that Shakur’s killing was retaliation for the MGM Grand beating, but investigators struggled to build a case they could prosecute.
Witnesses were reluctant to cooperate. Knight, who was sitting beside Shakur when the shots were fired, did not provide investigators with an account that led to charges. Other people believed to have been inside the Cadillac died over the ensuing years.
Davis spoke to investigators off the record in 2008 under an agreement with federal authorities and again with Las Vegas police in 2009. The unusual circumstances surrounding those interviews complicated whether his statements could be used against him.
But Davis later began discussing the killing publicly, including in documentaries, interviews and his memoir. Prosecutors argued those public disclosures allowed them to use statements he had made years earlier.
A renewed Las Vegas police investigation eventually led to Davis’ arrest in 2023.
What did Davis’ defense argue?
Defense attorney Michael Sanft asked jurors to reject the very statements prosecutors considered their strongest evidence.
Sanft argued that Davis had exaggerated or fabricated accounts of his involvement for money and notoriety. He characterized his client’s statements as braggadocio and fiction rather than confessions.
More importantly, Sanft argued investigators had failed to independently prove that Davis was even in Las Vegas on the night Shakur was shot.
He pointed to the absence of surveillance footage, phone records and other physical or documentary evidence placing Davis inside the Cadillac.
“They have nothing in this case that says that man was here in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996,” Sanft told jurors, pointing toward Davis during his closing argument.
Sanft also attacked the integrity of the decades-old investigation, arguing that missing records, questionable police practices and the involvement of multiple law enforcement agencies made the prosecution’s case unreliable.
Prosecutors countered that Davis’ admissions did not have to be independently corroborated if jurors believed them. They also pointed to circumstantial evidence they said supported his account, including the MGM Grand beating, the gang rivalry surrounding the two groups and testimony about the events leading up to the shooting.
What happens to Davis now?
Moments after the verdict, Judge Carli Kierny ordered Davis to be held without bail while he awaits sentencing on Oct. 13. Davis raised his hand and said, “Excuse me,” before asking for the return of jewelry, a phone and other belongings.
“And I would like to appeal this matter,” Davis told the judge.
Kierny told him an appeal would come after sentencing.
Prosecutors also voluntarily dismissed an extra prison sentence related to gang activity after the verdict, citing logistical issues involving a witness. That eliminated the need for jurors to consider an additional phase of the case.