Crimeupdated 56m ago3 min read
Duane “Keffe D” Davis Sentenced To 40 Years To Life For Tupac Shakur Murder
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Davis, 63, was convicted of first-degree murder in Tupac Shakur's 1996 Las Vegas killing. He was sentenced to 40 years to life for orchestrating Tupac's murder.
Davis gets 40 years
Duane “Keffe D” Davis was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for Tupac Shakur’s 1996 murder in a Las Vegas court on Tuesday.
Judge Carli Kierny told Davis, “At this time, you are going to face justice for what you did,” and she said he would not just “walk away” from taking a man’s life.
Prosecutors argued Davis was the ringleader who orchestrated the drive-by shooting, and the jury of 12 Clark County citizens unanimously found him guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon after less than three hours’ deliberation in August.
Davis, 63, was arrested in September 2023 and charged with murder with the use of a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in connection with Shakur’s murder, and he has said he plans to appeal his conviction.
Sekyiwa Shakur told the court, “I do believe that when you take a life like that, you deserve every minute, every minute of the maximum amount of punishment,” as the sentencing capped a decades-long case tied to Shakur’s Sept. 7, 1996 drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip.
Cold case, courtroom quotes
Judge Carli Kierny told the court, “You don’t get to take a man from his family, you don’t get to take his very life, his whole future from him and just walk away from it,” and she said “The world never forgot about him and his death, and neither did Las Vegas.” Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo said that whatever sentence the court imposes, Davis is “guaranteed to die” behind bars, and he argued Davis was trying to profit from a killing that he committed. Davis briefly addressed the court on Tuesday, asking the judge to order the return of property seized from his residence, including personal photographs, and when asked if he wished to make any additional statements, Davis declined, stating, “No, I’m good.”
Sekyiwa Shakur told the court, “This man’s life mattered,” while her brother called the murder “devastating, heartbreaking and sad,” and Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal described the family as having to endure years of Davis “bragging about killing someone they loved.” Davis’ defense lawyer Michael Sanft argued in court that “The danger in this case has always been, just because we say something, is it true?” as Davis insisted on his innocence and said he would appeal.
What the sentence means
The sentencing followed a jury finding that Davis was the only person ever charged in connection with Shakur’s 1996 murder, and prosecutors said he orchestrated the fatal drive-by even though he did not pull the trigger.
Prosecutors said Davis’ account of the killing, including his role in handing the gun used in the crime, was supported by evidence that included his own words from police interviews and a 2019 memoir, while Davis’ defense argued his comments were fiction and that there was not enough proof to put him in Las Vegas that night.
NBC Los Angeles said the sentence included a 20-year mandatory enhancement for profiting off the murder, and it also said Davis was asked by Judge Carli Kierny if he had anything to say and he replied, “I’m good. I’m gonna appeal this case for sure.”
Al Jazeera reported that Davis had entered into a 2008 proffer agreement with federal law enforcement officers granting him limited immunity for statements he made privately, but prosecutors said Davis voided those protections by repeating his statements outside his meetings with investigators.
The case now turns on Davis’ appeal, and the sentencing hearing left Shakur’s family with a public record of their impact statements, including Sekyiwa Shakur’s statement, “I do believe when you take a life like that, you deserve every minute, every minute of the maximum amount of punishment, time to sit down and contemplate what you’ve done to this world, not just to me.”