Gang leader sentenced to 40 years to life in Tupac’s murder: ‘The world never forgot about him’

See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred

The man who orchestrated the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, fueling a bicoastal feud that involved gang members and record company executives, has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.

While sentencing Duane “Keffe D” Davis on Tuesday, Clark County District Court Judge Carli Lynn Kierny said: “You don’t get to take a man from his family … and just walk away from it, especially Tupac Shakur. The world never forgot about him and his death, and neither did Las Vegas.”

The jury convicted Davis, 63, of murder and use of a deadly weapon for orchestrating the rapper’s fatal shooting on Sept. 7, 1996, and sentenced him to consecutive terms of 20 years to life, 40 years to life in total.

During the two-week trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Davis, as his gang’s shot caller, arranged Shakur’s killing by passing a .40-caliber handgun to fellow members of the Southside Crips-Burris Street gang as they rode in a Cadillac near the Las Vegas Strip. The key evidence included interviews Davis gave authorities, a documentary and his own 2019 memoir detailing the killing.

“I am going to appeal this case for sure,” Davis told the judge before his sentencing.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, center, arrives for a sentencing hearing Tuesday in Las Vegas after his murder conviction in the death of rapper Tupac Shakur. (John Locher / Pool Photo) Shakur’s killing came during a fraught time in the rap world. Death Row Records, run at the time by Marion “Suge” Knight, was in a cross-country rivalry with Bad Boy Records, run by Sean “Diddy” Combs.

When Shakur was killed, it sparked conspiracy theories about who was involved as well as introspection in the music industry. It also ignited a 10-day gang war in Compton.

For Shakur’s family, the effects were personal and devastating.

Sekyiwa Shakur, the rapper’s sister, told the judge the killing had crippled her family, as he was the provider for two dozen relatives and was “my shining star, my shining prince.”

His death left her with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal issues, she said.

“I do believe that 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,” Shakur told the judge Tuesday.

Davis, prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo argued Tuesday, profited off the rapper’s death in writing his memoir and “deserved the maximum possible sentence.”

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Shakur’s death was the result of a revenge plot.

Hours before the shooting, Shakur, Knight and members of the Mob Piru gang associated with Death Row Records had beaten Davis’ nephew, Orlando Anderson, at the MGM Grand. The beating was captured on security camera and occurred just after a Mike Tyson fight that drew the rich and famous to the venue.

Sekyiwa Shakur, center, attends the sentencing hearing for the convicted killer of her brother Tupac Shakur on Tuesday. (John Locher / Pool Photo) Anderson’s beating was spurred by an earlier incident in which he allegedly snatched a Death Row chain from a member of the Mob Piru gang at the Lakewood Mall.

On the night of Shakur’s murder, Davis handed a gun to a shooter who opened fire on the rapper and Knight as they sat inside a car on the Strip. Shakur died six days later. He was 25 years old.

During the trial, prosecutors presented testimony from Los Angeles and Las Vegas police investigators, journalists and Davis’ own 2019 memoir about the killing as evidence against him.

Anthony Michael Sanft, Davis’ defense lawyer, throughout the trial maintained that the prosecution’s case was no better than rumor and hearsay, as they had no forensic evidence, eyewitnesses or physical evidence placing Davis in the car with the shooter.

“The state wants you to believe this was a confession, that he was somehow there in person at the time of the shooting,” Sanft told jurors. “We can’t even put Davis in Las Vegas.”

An investigation into the 1997 murder of Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace in Los Angeles ultimately led to the break in Shakur’s killing. Daryn Dupree, a former homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, testified that Davis said during a 2008 federal task force investigation into Wallace’s killing that he knew about that shooting and then indicated: “We did the other one.”

Davis was given a proffer agreement for his testimony with the task force, meaning he agreed to provide information in exchange for possible benefit.

That statement shifted investigators’ focus to the Shakur killing.

During the trial, the prosecution played a recording of the task force interview in which Davis said Terrence Brown was the driver of the Cadillac that night, with Anderson and Deandrae “Big Dre” Smith in the back and himself in the passenger seat.

Davis told the task force, led by the LAPD, that they only noticed Knight and Shakur in the BMW because some women were yelling at the rapper.

“Tupac gave himself away; otherwise, they would have got away,” Davis can be heard saying on the recording.

“I saw a bullet go into Suge’s head,” he says. “I thought he was dead.”

Clark County chief prosecutors told jurors that when Davis published his memoir, he waived his rights under the 2008 proffer deal. Prosecutors could then use his interviews with the LAPD and Las Vegas police as evidence. Davis’ attorney argued to the jury that the memoir was merely an attempt to sell books and that Davis fabricated his role in Shakur’s death.

Charles Manson’s ‘right-hand man,’ Bruce Davis, dies in prison at 83 Sept. 14, 2026 Two unsolved rap murders haunted police for decades. Why Tupac case closed but not Biggie Smalls’ Sept. 1, 2026 Ex-Compton gang leader found guilty in murder of Tupac Shakur Aug. 31, 2026 Show Comments CaliforniaBreaking News The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.

Richard Winton is an investigative crime writer for the Los Angeles Times and part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2011. Known as @lacrimes on X, during almost 30 years at The Times he also has been part of the breaking news staff that won Pulitzers in 1998, 2004 and 2016.

More From the Los Angeles Times California

The Trial of Errol Flynn On screen, Errol Flynn played a series of daredevils, fortune hunters, and suave romantics. Off screen, he lived a life of outsize debauchery and recklessness, including a persistent interest in underage girls. In 1943, at the height of his fame, he faced trial in Los Angeles on charges of statutory rape.

What Kind of Governor Does California Want? In our first episode, the L.A. Times columnist George Skelton sizes up the governors he’s known, what made them successful and whether the next one can measure up.

Boiling Point Live at Climate Week NYC How do you get more people to care about climate change — and tell riveting stories along the way? Boiling Point explored that question at a live event during this year’s New York City Climate Week at Columbia University’s Climate School.