Duane "Keffe D" Davis found guilty in 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur

A Las Vegas jury has convicted 63-year-old former gang leader Duane "Keffe D" Davis of first-degree murder for his role in the 1996 drive-by shooting of rap icon Tupac Shakur.

Davis now faces a potential sentence of life in prison without parole. Following the verdict, he told the court that he intends to appeal. His sentencing has been scheduled for October 13.

The jury reached its verdict after about three hours of deliberation, with prosecutors relying heavily on Davis' own past admissions.

Prosecutors portrayed Davis as the "on-site commander" who helped plan the attack and supplied the firearm used in the shooting.

They said the killing was carried out in retaliation for a fight earlier that night at the MGM Grand hotel involving Shakur and Davis' nephew, Orlando Anderson.

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Key evidence included Davis' media interviews and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend. In the book, Davis placed himself inside the vehicle used in the shooting and claimed he handed the gun to Anderson.

The defence argued that Davis' accounts were exaggerated fabrications intended to boost book sales. His lawyers also pointed out that no physical evidence placed him at the scene.

The jury, however, accepted his self-incriminating statements as evidence of his involvement.

Shakur was 25 when he was shot four times on September 7, 1996, while riding in a car driven by Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight. He died six days later.

For nearly three decades, the murder remained one of the most high-profile unsolved cases in popular culture. Gang rivalries and a code of silence among witnesses hampered the investigation, while several key figures linked to the shooting, including Anderson, the alleged gunman, have since died.

Davis' indictment in September 2023 marked the first formal criminal charges brought in connection with Shakur's killing.

Sean "Diddy" Combs has long been mentioned in rumours surrounding Shakur's murder, but he has never been charged in the case and has repeatedly denied any involvement.

During Davis' trial, a former police detective testified that Davis had previously claimed Combs offered a $1 million (Sh129,700,000) reward to have Shakur and Knight killed amid their bitter rivalry in the rap industry.

According to the testimony, Davis claimed the money was to be paid through a middleman after the shooting. He also acknowledged that he never received the alleged payment.

However, the claims against Combs were not central to the prosecution's case. Prosecutors focused on Davis' own role in the killing, and police have never officially verified the allegations against Combs.