LAS VEGAS — A Clark County jury on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, convicted Duane "Keffe D" Davis of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon for orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed Tupac Shakur, the first criminal conviction in a case that had sat unsolved for nearly 30 years.

Jurors deliberated about three hours after an 11-day trial at the Regional Justice Center, Reuters reported. Davis, 63, had pleaded not guilty. District Judge Carli Kierny ordered him held without bail and set sentencing for Oct. 13, when he faces a maximum of life in prison without parole. After the verdict he told the court he wanted his property back and that he planned to appeal. The judge said any appeal comes after sentencing, AP reported.

Prosecutors did not allege that Davis pulled the trigger. Under Nevada law, a person who aids a murder can be convicted of the murder. Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors that Davis acquired a gun and "went hunting" for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight after they beat Davis's nephew earlier that night. "He is responsible of the murder of Tupac Shakur," Palal said, per NPR. "Tell him you hear him. Find him guilty."

Shakur, 25, was a passenger in a BMW Knight was driving on Sept. 7, 1996, when a white Cadillac pulled alongside at a red light on Flamingo Road near the Strip and gunfire erupted. Shakur was shot multiple times and died six days later. Knight was wounded and survived. AP and NPR reported that Davis is the only person still alive among the four men prosecutors say were in the Cadillac. He was indicted in 2023 after years of public statements, interviews, and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, in which he placed himself in the car and described handing a gun to the back seat as retaliation.

Defense attorney Michael Sanft argued there was no physical evidence — no phone records, receipts, or surveillance — proving Davis was in Las Vegas that night, and that the book and interviews were bravado sold for profit. The memoir carries a disclaimer that some facts were changed. Palal told jurors the "core facts remain." In rebuttal, prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo pointed to a scrapbook of Shakur articles Davis kept. "This guy's scrapbooking his murder, for God's sake," he said, NPR reported.

The state said Monday evening it would dismiss a gang-enhancement portion of the charge because of witness logistics; the murder conviction stands. Shakur's sister, Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur, cried and embraced prosecutors after the verdict, AP and NPR reported. Prosecutors declined comment. Family members said they were waiting until sentencing.

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