Ex-gang leader ‘Keffe D’ found guilty of killing rap legend Tupac Shakur

What the report says

A Las Vegas jury has found Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty in the 1996 killing of rap star Tupac Shakur, according to Al Jazeera. Davis, 63, was convicted of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon after deliberations that lasted only a few hours. He now faces a possible life sentence without parole, and sentencing is set for October 13. Davis told the court he plans to appeal.

Al Jazeera reported that prosecutors said Davis, a former Los Angeles gang figure, ordered the shooting after a confrontation involving his nephew at a casino earlier that night. They alleged that Davis provided a firearm and directed others to attack Shakur after the rapper was leaving a boxing event in Las Vegas. Shakur was shot while riding in a car at a red light and died six days later. The driver of the vehicle, Death Row Records cofounder Marion “Suge” Knight, was wounded.

The case is one of the most closely followed unresolved killings in US music history. Al Jazeera said the investigation stalled for years because of limited evidence, then gained new momentum after Davis’s memoir and prior public comments about the case drew renewed attention. The defense argued those statements were untrue or exaggerated and said there was no other proof linking him to the shooting.

Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was 25 when he died and remained a major figure in hip-hop, especially in the East Coast-West Coast rivalry of the 1990s.