Prosecutors said Davis helped facilitate the murder but was not the person who pulled the trigger

 Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been convicted of first-degree murder in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur. 

Trial testimony suggested that Sean “Diddy” Combs arranged a payment related to the murder, but Combs has denied any involvement and has not been charged. A Las Vegas jury found Davis guilty, marking the first conviction in one of hip-hop's most notorious unresolved cases, nearly 30 years after the shooting.

Jurors reached their verdict in less than three hours after nearly two weeks of trial, convicting the 63-year-old former gang leader from Compton of murder with a deadly weapon, with intent to promote or assist a criminal gang. Davis was not accused of firing the gun himself.

Prosecutors argued that Davis was the "shot caller" who handed the murder weapon to the alleged gunman, believed to be his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, seeking revenge after Shakur's entourage assaulted Anderson earlier that night. Under Nevada law, facilitating a murder can lead to a conviction for the crime itself.

Additionally, trial testimony revealed a less discussed detail: an alleged connection to Sean "Diddy" Combs. According to Rolling Stone, Combs supposedly arranged a payment to Davis via an intermediary named Zip Martin, meant as compensation related to the murder.

The plan reportedly fell apart when Martin, who was in poor health at the time, never followed through with the meeting. Combs, currently serving a 50-month sentence after his 2025 prostitution-related transportation charges, has repeatedly denied involvement in Shakur's death, and no charges have been filed against him based on this testimony.

Much of the prosecutors’ case depended on Davis's own statements, including police interviews and details from his memoir, in which he described handing his nephew the gun used in the shooting.

Davis chose not to testify in his defense. His attorney, Michael Sanft, argued that Davis fabricated or exaggerated his story for money and fame, criticizing investigators for failing to verify his claims independently.

Judge Carli Kierny ordered Davis held without bail until his sentencing on October 13, when he faces possible life in prison without parole. After the verdict, Davis calmly requested his personal belongings, including his phone and laptop, and expressed plans to appeal.

This verdict comes just two weeks before the anniversary of Shakur's death on September 13, providing his family with both a name and a conviction in a case they've waited nearly three decades to see resolved.