Duane Keith "Keffe D" Davis has been sentenced for the fatal shooting of Tupac Shakur three decades ago.
Nevada Judge Carli Kierny ordered Davis, 63, to serve 40 years to life behind bars on Tuesday, Oct. 13, after a jury found him guilty of one count of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon following than three hours of deliberations on Aug. 31, making Davis the first and only person charged and convicted of the hip-hop legend's death.
"Mr. Davis, for three years, I've heard you say some variation of the same thing to law enforcement, [in interviews], in your book, and it's something like, 'Yeah, I was involved in this, but I'm different. I've moved on. I got out of Compton. I'm a grandfather now.' I'm here to tell you that's not
how this works," Kierny said before giving Davis his sentence.
"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. Especially when that man is Tupac Shakur," she continued. "The world never forgot about him and his death, and neither did Las Vegas. It took us 30 years, but at this time, you are going to face justice for what you did on Sept. 7, 1996."
At the sentencing hearing, Clark County District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said Davis "deserves the maximum sentence" of life "because he earned it," emphasizing that "this is a uniquely painful situation for the family" due to the many years of Davis "publicly grandstanding in the death of Tupac Shakur."
"He's the only one trying to profit off a killing he committed," DiGiacomo said.
Defense attorney Michael Sanft then reiterated his intentions to file an appeal, and Davis told the judge, "I just want all that stuff back that you took out of my house" during the investigation. "I'm good," he added. "I'm going to appeal this case for sure."
Tupac Shakur's family speaks out on murder sentence
Tupac Shakur's sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, also spoke during the proceedings, sharing a lengthy emotional impact statement, revealing the death led her to be hospitalized multiple times for "depression, suicidal ideation, trauma, PTSD."
Maurice Shakur, the late artist's brother, gave his own statement as well: "The impact from my brother's murder has been devastating, heartbreaking and sad, for me, my family and a nation of Pac fans and loved ones. Pac didn't get a chance to have any kids. Pac didn't see his nieces and nephews grow up, and Pac didn't have a trial. All Pac got was a death sentence, so the longest possible, your honor. Thank you."
Davis' sentence includes 20 years to life for the first-degree murder charge and a consecutive 20 years to life for the deadly weapon enhancement.
Duane 'Keffe D' Davis orchestrated the murder of Tupac Shakur, jury finds
On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur and Death Row Records cofounder Marion "Suge" Knight were struck by bullets in a drive-by shooting orchestrated by Davis in Las Vegas. Knight, who is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for a fatal hit-and-run in 2015, survived, but the rapper died from his injuries.
At the time, Davis was a leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang, a rival of the Bloods, which was affiliated with Death Row and Knight. While Davis did not pull the trigger that killed Shakur, he called the shots as an act of retaliation after Shakur and Knight beat up his nephew, also a Crips member, hours prior.
On Sept. 29, 2023, just over 27 years later, Davis was formally indicted and arrested. He denied any involvement and pleaded not guilty.
Who killed Tupac? Trial reveals details
Throughout the trial, which lasted two weeks in August, prosecutors focused on Davis' past confessions. In 2008 and 2009 recorded police interviews, he could be heard describing how he obtained the gun and handed it to a passenger of the car, whom he instructed when to shoot.
In a 2019 memoir Davis cowrote, titled "Compton Street Legend: Notorious Keffe D’s Street-Level Accounts of Tupac and Biggie Murders, Death Row Origins, Suge Knight, Puffy Combs, and Crooked Cops," he again said he was in the car and provided the weapon used to shoot Shakur.
"Mr. Davis is attempting to escape responsibility for a crime everybody knows he committed, even him, and he admits to it," DiGiacomo said during closing statements.
The defense, however, argued that all Davis' confessions were false and criticized the investigation as "biased, sloppy and incomplete."
"The evidence alone, just on this, would indicate to you that Mr. Davis is not telling you the truth, or in the alternative, he's not telling you a fact," Sanft told the jury.
Sanft also highlighted the time that passed between the killing and Davis' arrest, questioning why charges didn't come sooner. "Keffe was never charged for any of what he said during that time period, and it's because they knew he was full of crap. Otherwise they would have," he said.
After his conviction, Davis said he was confident about his freedom in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Sept. 4.
"I ain't worried. I'm getting out on an appeal," he told the outlet from the Clark County Detention Center in Nevada. "We already filed it before the trial even started. They violated my civil rights!"
He continued: "I'm a good man, man. I'm a good person," Davis added. "I'm innocent, man. They got an innocent man sitting in jail. I've got two grandsons that are going to the pros in football. They All-Americans – one of them is in high school. He has 25 scholarship offers, and the other one is in college. And when they get their millions, they’re coming to get me out of here."
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tupac trial – Duane 'Keffe D' Davis sentenced to 40 years to life for murder
