Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the only person charged in connection with the 1996 murder of American rap icon Tupac Shakur, has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
A Las Vegas court handed down the sentence on Tuesday, October 13, nearly 30 years after Shakur was fatally shot near the Las Vegas Strip. Davis was convicted of first-degree murder in August 2026 following a jury trial.
Judge Carli Kierny sentenced Davis to consecutive prison terms that amount to 40 years to life. He was also credited for time already spent in custody.
During sentencing, Kierny said Davis had to face justice for taking Shakur’s life and depriving his family of a future with the rapper.
“You don’t get to take a man from his family,” the judge said. “You don’t get to take his very life, his whole future from him, and just walk away from it. Especially when that man is Tupac Shakur.”
Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, told the court that her brother’s death had caused lasting emotional and psychological pain for their family.
“The loss of Tupac, for a long time, crippled my entire family, emotionally and mentally,” she said.
His stepbrother, Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, also spoke about the impact of the rapper’s death and the years his family had spent without him.
Prosecutors argued that Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, orchestrated the shooting in retaliation for an earlier confrontation involving his nephew, Orlando Anderson, and members of Shakur’s entourage at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas.
Shakur was travelling in a BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight when gunfire erupted on September 7, 1996. The rapper, who was 25, sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died in hospital six days later.
Prosecutors said Davis organised the attack but did not personally fire the shots. Their case relied partly on statements he made in interviews, documentaries and a 2019 memoir discussing the events surrounding the killing.
Davis’ conviction marked a major development in one of hip-hop’s most notorious unsolved cases. He has indicated plans to appeal the verdict.
The case has also renewed attention on the 1997 murder of fellow rapper Christopher Wallace, known as The Notorious B.I.G. His killing remains unsolved. Allegations Davis made concerning music executive Sean “Diddy” Combs have been denied by Combs.
