An elderly former gang chief was handed a 40-year to life prison term on Tuesday for masterminding the 1996 drive-by shooting of rap star Tupac Shakur near the Las Vegas Strip. The murder, stemming from a prolonged gang rivalry, remained unresolved for years, gripping the public and haunting Shakur’s family until Duane (Keffe D) Davis began discussing it publicly in interviews and a book. Davis, aged 63, was convicted in August of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon.
As a past leader of the South Side Compton Crips, Davis gazed blankly as Judge Carli Kierny sentenced him, making him ineligible for parole until at least the age of 100, even with credit for time served. Davis, the sole individual ever charged in Shakur’s demise, plans to contest his conviction, as per his attorney. Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa (Set) Shakur, expressed the difficulty of hearing Davis vividly recount how he pursued and killed her brother, cutting him down at the peak of his fame as a musician and actor at 25.
Described as gentle and kind, Shakur was portrayed as the family’s protector. Sekyiwa Shakur stated that had he survived his injuries, including the loss of a lung, he would have transitioned from rapping to activism, following the paths of influential figures like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., and possibly delving into politics. “This man’s life mattered,” Sekyiwa Shakur emphasized, evoking tears from family members in the courtroom.
Maurice (Mopreme) Shakur, Shakur’s brother, expressed the devastating impact of the killing on him, his family, and Shakur’s admirers. Davis, after revealing his role in the shooting through interviews and a memoir in 2019, was ultimately charged. Davis recounted in his memoir how he sought retribution following an altercation between Shakur and his group with Davis’ nephew prior to the incident.
During the trial, prosecutors relied heavily on Davis’ admissions to law enforcement and filmmakers, asserting that he orchestrated the shooting and supplied the weapon used in Shakur’s death, stemming from tensions between the South Side Compton Crips and Mob Piru. Davis’ defense attorney highlighted the lack of physical evidence linking him to the decades-old crime and labeled Davis as a deceitful individual driven by financial gain.
Following nine days of testimony in August, the jury deliberated for three hours before delivering a guilty verdict. The other three individuals allegedly in the Cadillac during the shooting have all passed away, including Davis’ nephew, Orlando (Baby Lane) Anderson, whom Davis identified as the triggerman.
Davis mentioned another figure, Sean (Diddy) Combs, in his book and public statements, implicating the music mogul in offering money to kill Shakur and Knight. Combs, currently serving a prison term for unrelated charges, has consistently denied any involvement in Shakur’s assassination. The Clark County District Attorney expressed a lack of evidence to charge anyone else but noted the possibility of further charges if new information emerges following Davis’ conviction.