By Aug 31 (AfrikTimes) – A Las Vegas jury on Monday found an ex-gang leader guilty of murder in a case accusing him of masterminding the drive-by killing of legendary hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur, bringing a decades-old cold case to a close.
Duane Davis stands during a break in closing arguments in his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., August 31, 2026.
A mug shot of Duane Davis is displayed during closing arguments in the Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., August 31, 2026.
‘FICTION, NOT FACT’
Davis’ lawyer Michael Sanft told jurors during his closing argument that his client’s story could not be corroborated by evidence and should not be trusted. He also said the case was tainted by police corruption, mismanagement and missing files.
“You’re reading a book that is fiction and not fact, but the state wants you to believe that this is somehow a confession,” Sanft said, referring to Davis’ 2019 memoir “Compton Street Legend.”
The trial began on August 17. Prosecutors played hours of recorded conversations in which Davis said he was enraged after Shakur and his entourage beat up Davis’ nephew at a Las Vegas casino on September 7, 1996.
Davis and three other men, including his nephew, went looking for Shakur and his record executive Marion “Suge” Knight in a white Cadillac on the night of the beating, he told police during an unrelated investigation. Davis said he passed a gun to the backseat, and when they found Knight and Shakur’s car, one of the two men in the back opened fire.
1996 photos of the bullet-ridden black BMW, that Marion “Suge” Knight and Tupac Shakur were riding in, is displayed as Michael Sanft, defense attorney for Duane Davis, makes closing arguments in the Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., August 31, 2026.
Prosecutors have not named the shooter, and the three other men in the car have since died. Under Nevada law, Davis can be charged with murder even if he did not pull the trigger.
Davis was a leader of the South Side Compton Crips, a Los Angeles-area street gang that feuded with rival gang Mob Piru, which was associated with Shakur and his record label Death Row Records.
Shakur’s 1996 killing became a seminal moment in rap history and heightened hip-hop culture’s violent image during “gangsta” rap’s heyday, an era defined by feuding between East and West Coast artists.
An image featuring a photo of Tupac Shakur and Marion “Suge Knight and a quote from Duane Davis is displayed on a screen during prosecution closing arguments in the Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., August 31, 2026.
Alleged occupants of the white Cadillac are displayed during closing arguments in the Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, in Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., August 31, 2026.
