Duane 'Keffe D' Davis sentenced to 40 years to life for 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur
Duane “Keffe D” Davis was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur, Judge Carli Kierny ruled in Las Vegas on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, according to Deadline. The punishment was imposed almost 30 years after the shooting.
A jury had convicted Davis, 63, on 31 August of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon, meaning an intentional killing carried out with a gun, the same outlet reported. That verdict was the first conviction ever returned in the Shakur case, according to the Associated Press. Davis is the only person ever charged over the killing, Deadline reported.
Davis was given 731 days of credit for time already spent in custody, to be counted towards the sentence, CNN reported. He told the court he will appeal against the conviction, according to Deadline. He was 63 at sentencing, Reuters reported.
The shooting happened on 7 September 1996 after a Mike Tyson fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Deadline reported. Shakur was travelling in a black BMW with Suge Knight when a white Cadillac drew up and gunfire began, the same outlet reported.
Shakur died in hospital six days later. He was 25.
Davis was arrested in 2023 in connection with the murder, Deadline reported. Prosecutors rested their case in August 2026 after a trial that finally brought the long-dormant investigation before a jury, according to the Associated Press.
What makes this stand out is the time it took. For nearly three decades there was no charge and no conviction. Now there is one of each, and a life sentence to close the court record.
