Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for his role in the 1996 fatal shooting of legendary American rapper Tupac Shakur.
The sentence was handed down on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, by Clark County District Judge Carli Kierny in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Davis, 63, was convicted of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon by a Las Vegas jury in August 2026. The sentence also includes a mandatory enhancement linked to profiting from the crime.
He will receive credit for the 731 days he has spent in custody since his arrest in September 2023.
Prosecutors argued that Davis orchestrated the September 1996 drive-by shooting that killed Shakur, although he was not accused of personally pulling the trigger. According to the prosecution, the attack was organised in retaliation for an earlier altercation involving his nephew, Orlando Anderson.
The long-unsolved case gained renewed momentum following Davis’s public interviews and the publication of his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, in which he discussed events surrounding the killing. Davis’s defence team has indicated that he intends to appeal the conviction.
Tupac Shakur, one of the most influential figures in hip-hop history, was 25 when he was shot in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996. He died six days later, on September 13, from his injuries.
The sentencing marks a major development in one of the most closely watched murder cases in music history.
