Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been found guilty of first-degree murder for his role in orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, bringing a major breakthrough in one of the music industry's most infamous murder cases.
A Las Vegas jury convicted Davis, 63, after a trial that examined events surrounding the September 1996 shooting and his own public statements about the killing.
Prosecutors did not accuse Davis of personally pulling the trigger. Instead, they argued that he orchestrated the attack in retaliation after Shakur and members of his entourage assaulted Davis' nephew, Orlando Anderson, earlier that night.
According to prosecutors, Davis helped organise the retaliation and was involved in events that led to the shooting, including allegedly providing the weapon used in the attack.
The prosecution's case relied heavily on Davis' own interviews, recorded conversations and previous statements in which he described being inside the white Cadillac from which the fatal shots were fired.
Shakur was shot while travelling in Las Vegas with Death Row Records executive Marion “Suge” Knight and died six days later at the age of 25.
For nearly three decades, the killing remained one of the world's most closely watched unsolved murder cases, surrounded by speculation, conspiracy theories and public interest.
The conviction makes Davis the first person to be convicted over Shakur's death, nearly 30 years after the rapper was killed.
Davis now faces the possibility of a life sentence.
