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Former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison in Las Vegas, United States, in connection with the 1996 killing of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur. The sentence was handed down on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Davis, 63, was convicted of first-degree murder by a jury in August. He will serve two consecutive sentences of 20 years to life for murder and use of a deadly weapon.
Davis showed no emotion during a hearing that lasted about an hour. He briefly argued with the judge over whether time already served would be credited toward his sentence. Given a final opportunity to address the court, he asked for items seized from his home during the investigation to be returned.
Ruling issued in case over murder plot
Until Davis was arrested in 2023, Shakur’s killing was considered one of the most prominent unsolved criminal cases in the United States for nearly three decades. The 25-year-old rapper was fatally shot from a car in Las Vegas. He was in the passenger seat of an SUV driven by music industry executive Marion “Suge” Knight.
Davis is the only person to have been charged in connection with Shakur’s murder. However, investigators have not conclusively determined who fired the fatal shots.
Prosecutors argued that Davis arranged the killing in retaliation for Shakur and people accompanying him beating Davis’ nephew at the MGM Grand casino on the Las Vegas Strip on September 7, 1996. Officials said they had long suspected Davis’ involvement but lacked sufficient evidence to charge him.
Statements Davis made to the media, his memoir and audio recordings of his secret meetings with investigators were key pieces of evidence in the prosecution’s case. In his book “Compton Street Legend,” Davis wrote that he had been considered a suspect in the killings of both Shakur and rival rapper Christopher Wallace.
Shakur’s sister addresses the court
The rapper’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, struggled to hold back tears as she addressed the court on behalf of the victim’s relatives. Sekyiwa, 51, said their mother had raised her brother to be a human rights activist and had tried to convince him he could change the world for the better.
Released a few months before Shakur’s death, the album “All Eyez on Me” reflected his outlaw image. The rapper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
