Ex-gang boss sentenced to 40 years for orchestrating Tupac Shakur's murder
The sentence marks an end to the mystery around Tupac's cold case, which has intrigued hip-hop fans for nearly 30 years.
Former gang leader Duane "Keffe D" Davis has been handed a 40-year prison sentence for arranging the killing of Tupac Shakur.
In September, a jury convicted Davis of one count of murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the rap icon’s death in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas on 7 September 1996. He has said he will appeal the ruling.
The 63-year-old’s conviction marked the first in a cold case that has fascinated hip-hop fans for almost 30 years.
Prosecutors said that while Davis did not pull the trigger himself, he was the leader of the group responsible for the murder. In his memoir, he admitted supplying the gun used in the crime.
The central evidence in the case came from Davis’ own statements, in which he repeatedly and publicly said he was inside the white Cadillac from which the fatal shots were fired.
In return for immunity from criminal prosecution, he had told investigators about his involvement in Shakur’s death during a secret police interview in 2008 tied to the killing of fellow rapper Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace, who was shot dead just months after Shakur.
Davis later expanded on his role in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, which brought him publicity and media interviews.
However, the book and the interviews in which he discussed his part in Shakur’s killing invalidated a protection deal he had made with authorities that had prevented any criminal charges from being brought. A judge then permitted his police interview to be used in the murder trial against him.
Shakur was 25 and at the peak of his career as one of rap’s most influential voices when he died. He sold more than 75 million records worldwide.
For 30 years, the investigation into his killing remained one of the United States’ most notorious cold cases, fueling endless conspiracy theories — until Davis was convicted last month.
During the trial, Davis’ defence team tried to convince jurors that his remarks were made up — boasting and exaggeration meant to sell books and earn money.
Prosecutors said that although Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang, did not fire the weapon himself, he ordered the shooting and provided the gun that his nephew Orlando Anderson used to open fire.
Anderson, who denied any role in Shakur’s killing, died in an unrelated shooting in 1998.