Duane Davis gets life sentence with parole eligibility after 40 years in Tupac case

A court in Las Vegas sentenced Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, to life in prison in the case of rapper Tupac Shakur's killing in 1996. Davis can seek parole no earlier than after 40 years, Meduza reported. RIA Novosti quoted the judge as saying the combined sentence was 40 years to life and that 731 days would be credited toward the time served. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]

RIA Novosti and Meduza reported that jurors found Davis guilty in September. RIA Novosti said the conviction was for first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon as part of a criminal group. It reported that the trial lasted several weeks and that jury deliberations took about three hours. [ 1 , 3 ]

Davis is a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, according to RIA Novosti. Prosecutors said he organized the killing in retaliation for an attack on his nephew. Meduza reported that Shakur had clashed with Davis' nephew, Orlando Anderson, hours before the shooting, after which Davis and three other men, including Anderson, went looking for Shakur in a white Cadillac. [ 1 , 3 ]

Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, while his BMW, also carrying Death Row Records founder Suge Knight, was stopped at a traffic light. Shots were fired from a white Cadillac that stopped alongside, RIA Novosti reported. The 25-year-old musician died several days later from his injuries. [ 1 ]

Meduza reported that Davis denied guilt during the trial despite having described the events in interviews and his 2019 memoir. By the time the memoir was published, the three people who had been in the Cadillac with him were dead, the outlet said. The case had remained unsolved for nearly 30 years before his arrest in 2023, Meduza reported, citing Reuters. [ 3 ]