Duane 'Keefe D' Davis convicted in 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur
A Las Vegas jury found Davis guilty of one murder charge in the 1996 shooting of Tupac Shakur; he says he will appeal.
Duane "Keefe D" Davis has been convicted by a Las Vegas jury of one count of murder in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, marking the first criminal conviction in a case that has fascinated hip‑hop fans for almost three decades. The shooting that killed Shakur took place on September 7, 1996.
The 63‑year‑old Davis appeared impassive as the verdict was read in court; he later said he will appeal the conviction.
Tupac Shakur was 25 when he was killed at the height of his career. His records have sold some 75 million copies worldwide.
Prosecutors' account and motive
Prosecutors told the jury that, although the former leader of the street gang known as the South Side Compton Crips did not pull the trigger himself, he ordered the shooting and provided the gun that his nephew, Orlando Anderson, used. They said the attack was planned as retaliation after Anderson was involved in a brawl with Shakur and members of his entourage just hours earlier.
The murder remained one of the most prominent unsolved homicides in the United States for roughly 30 years, feeding countless conspiracy theories. It occurred during the peak of the East Coast–West Coast rap rivalry and amid violent clashes between the Bloods and the Crips, groups deeply entwined with the era's hip‑hop scene.
A central piece of evidence at trial were statements by Davis himself. He had long acknowledged being in the white Cadillac from which the fatal shots were fired. Davis spoke to authorities about his role during a 2008 confidential police interview tied to the death of another famous rapper, Notorious B.I.G., and expanded on those admissions in his 2019 memoirs.
Photo: АП)
