Duane “Keffe D” Davis was handed a sentence of 40 years to life on Tuesday for masterminding the killing of Tupac Shakir, according to CNN.
Three decades after the murder of Shakur stunned the country, justice has finally been served. Davis has 731 days of credit for time already served toward his sentence. He was convicted of first-degree murder on August 31 for planning the 1996 hit on the rap mogul near the Las Vegas Strip. To date, he remains the sole individual ever charged in Shakur’s death.
“You don’t get to take a man from his family,” Judge Carli Kierny said before delivering the sentence to Davis. “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.”
“The world never forgot about him and his death,” Kierny continued. “Neither did Las Vegas. Took us 30 years, but at this time, you are going to face justice for what you did on September 7, 1996.”
HOW DAVIS WAS FOUND GUILTY
Ultimately, Duane “Keffe D” Davis proved to be his own worst enemy. In his 2019 tell-all memoir, Compton Street Legend, he gave prosecutors the crucial evidence they needed to solve one of hip-hop’s most notorious cold cases. Believing a 2008 proffer agreement protected him from self-incrimination, Davis spent years openly boasting in media interviews and throughout his book about his role in the 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur. He admitted to supplying the firearm used in the killing and detailing the logistics of the ambush near the Las Vegas Strip.
Although his defense team argued during trial that the book’s claims were exaggerated tall tales designed to generate sales, prosecutors successfully used his own published confession to secure a first-degree murder conviction.
Sekyiwa Shakur, Tupac’s sister, described her brother as a “caretaker and shining star” before his death. Since that time, she’s suffered from depression, suicidal ideation, and trauma.
“My brother was born an icon. He was born a legend,” Sekyiwa Shakur said, her voice breaking.
“The loss of Tupac, for a long time, crippled my entire family, emotionally and mentally,” she said. “Both of my children were raised in my grief.”