Duane "Keffe D" Davis has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur, nearly three decades after the hip-hop star was fatally shot in Las Vegas.
A 12-person jury reached the verdict after less than three hours of deliberation. Davis, 63, was convicted of murder with the use of a deadly weapon. The gang enhancement portion of the charge was dismissed.
Prosecutors said Davis orchestrated the shooting as retaliation after Shakur and his entourage attacked Davis' nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, at the MGM Grand earlier that night. Davis was not accused of pulling the trigger but was alleged to have helped organize the killing and provided the firearm.
Shakur was shot while riding in a BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight. He died six days later, on September 13, 1996.
Prosecutors relied partly on Davis' public statements and 2019 memoir, while his defense argued that he had fabricated or embellished his accounts and highlighted the lack of physical evidence.
Davis remains jailed without bail and plans to appeal. He faces a possible life sentence, with sentencing scheduled for October 13.
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