Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for masterminding the killing of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, who was gunned down near the Las Vegas Strip in 1996.
Davis was convicted in August of first-degree murder involving a deadly weapon. He is the only person ever prosecuted in connection with Shakur's death, which occurred when the artist was 25 years old and at the height of his career.
Prosecutor argues for maximum sentence
During Tuesday's sentencing, prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo told the court that whatever sentence was imposed, Davis is "guaranteed to die" behind bars. "It's not just about losing a family member," DiGiacomo said, as Shakur's sister Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur nodded in agreement among those gathered.
DiGiacomo contended that Davis sought to make money from a murder he carried out and therefore shouldn't receive the lightest possible punishment. "In my mind he deserves the maximum possible sentence," DiGiacomo said.
Davis spoke briefly to the court, telling Judge Carli Kierny he wanted items back that officers took from his home, including his pictures. When questioned whether he had anything else to add, Davis replied: "No I'm good."
Case built on confessions and memoir
The murder went unsolved for decades until Davis, a former South Side Compton Crips leader, gave interviews and chronicled his role in the fatal shooting through his 2019 tell-all memoir. Davis's lawyer, Michael Sanft, has indicated plans to challenge the conviction, maintaining that prosecutors had taken far too long to pursue the case.
On the night of 7 September 1996, Shakur was riding as a passenger in a black BMW with music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight when a white Cadillac pulled up beside them at traffic lights and shots were fired. Shakur was struck by several bullets and died six days later, while Knight survived.
In his memoir, Davis described how Shakur and his crew assaulted Davis's nephew just hours before the fatal shooting in Las Vegas. He claimed he sought vengeance and that he sat in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac, passing the gun to those in the back from where the bullets were fired. Davis had previously given statements to officers years beforehand but avoided charges thanks to a deal he'd struck with authorities.
Family speaks at sentencing
During the lengthy trial, prosecutors relied heavily on Davis's own confessions made to police and documentary makers. They argued Davis orchestrated the attack and provided the weapon that killed Shakur, rooted in a dispute between the South Side Compton Crips and Mob Piru. Davis's defence lawyer pointed to a lack of physical evidence connecting his client to the three-decade-old crime and portrayed Davis as someone making false claims in an attempt to gain financially. After nine days of testimony in August, the jury took three hours to reach their guilty verdict.
Shakur's family members spoke at the sentencing, including his siblings Maurice "Mopreme" Shakur and Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur. Following the verdict, prosecutor Binu Palal said that while Shakur was an icon or an idea to many, "but to the family, Tupac Shakur was a brother, a son, a cousin, a loved person ripped from them 30 years ago." Palal observed the family suffered through years of Davis "bragging about killing someone they loved."
Davis is the only person charged and convicted in Shakur's murder. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson has said his office doesn't believe it possesses sufficient evidence to prosecute anyone else. "But like any other case, if we come into more information, more evidence, we can always consider filing additional charges," he said after the guilty verdict. "But today, we don't believe that's the appropriate move to make."
