A jury has convicted a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips "shot caller" in arranging the murder of the late rap legend.
A Las Vegas jury has found Duane Keith "Keffe D" Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang, guilty of arranging the 1996 murder of rap legend Tupac Shakur.
The three-decade-long case came to an end on 31st August after the jury deliberated for less than three hours, the Associated Press reports. Davis was convicted of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon.
Though it is acknowledged he did not fire the fatal shots on Shakur, he "orchestrated" his death in September 1996 at age 25, according to BBC News.
Tupac's sister Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur cried and hugged prosecutors, including chief deputy district attorney Binu Palal, after the guilty verdict was read, according to AP.
Shakur's cousin told court reporters, "We’ve been waiting 30 years to grieve properly... A lot of people don’t get to grieve until they understand what happened to their loved one and how it happened", via the Guardian.
Davis manifestou intenção de recorrer da decisão. Sua audiência de sentença está marcada para 13 de outubro, e ele pode enfrentar prisão perpétua.
On 7th September 1996, Davis' nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson opened fire on Tupac Shakur with a gun obtained by Davis. Shakur died six days later from his injuries related to the four gunshot wounds on 13th September.
Anderson died two years later in an unrelated shooting in Compton. 63-year-old Davis is the only person alive today of four men total who "went hunting" for Shakur in a white Cadillac on that September night in retaliation for an assault on Anderson.
Davis was first arrested and charged in Tupac Shakur's murder in October 2023. Prosecutors formed the case against "shot caller" Davis based on his public statements, including in his own memoir, Compton Street Legend, published in 2019, describing the murder of Shakur.
In 2008, Davis became a confidential police informant in a drug case against him, which he falsely believed gave him immunity in additional cases, Pitchfork reports.
In 2025, Davis's lawyer filed a motion to have the case dismissed on constitutional grounds, citing the 27-year delay and a "failure to honour immunity agreements.
Davis affirmed his presence in the white Cadillac on 7th September 1996 in multiple instances and that he procured the . 40 S&W Glock 22 used to shoot Shakur. He said he handed that gun to the men in the backseat as they pulled up alongside the car Shakur was in at a red light.
Them jumping on my nephew gave us the green light to want to do something to their ass", Davis wrote in his memoir, according to the Guardian. "Pac chose the wrong game to play." The defense's case attempted to highlight inconsistencies in Davis's accounts and claimed he was exaggerating.
