Las Vegas jury convicts Duane Davis in Tupac Shakur murder

Duane Davis says his own statements about his involvement in Shakur's 1996 shooting were fiction for the sake of protection and money. Prosecutors say Davis had no reason to lie about the murder when faced with his own charges.LAS VEGAS (CN) — Thirty years after the 1996 killing of rap legend Tupac Shakur, jurors on Monday convicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis of first-degree murder.The verdict came after two weeks of testimony, during which jurors heard the former South Side Compton Crips shot caller participated in the shooting as retaliation for the beating of his nephew, Orlando Anderson, earlier on the night of Sept. 7, 1996.That beating in the MGM Grand, in which a witness said Shakur participated, led Davis and three other men to search for Shakur that night. Prepared to give up, they spotted Shakur and Death Row Records’ CEO Marion “Suge” Knight by chance as they drove near the Las Vegas strip.Interviews with authorities, documentarians and his own book placed Davis in the front seat of a white Cadillac, where he handed a .40-caliber Glock to the backseat, where Anderson took it before firing the shots that would take Shakur’s life six days later.Davis’ defense attorney Michael Sanft had argued his client wasn’t believable and the investigation into him suffered from corruption. Davis — the only person in the vehicle who is still alive — had pleaded not guilty.But Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal said during closing arguments earlier on Monday they didn’t need to rely only on Davis’ statements to place Davis in Las Vegas that night.Multiple people testified about the rivalry between the Crips and Mob Piru. A skirmish at a California mall in 1996 spilled into Las Vegas, leading to a group of men — one of them identified as Shakur — attacking Anderson in the MGM Grand the night Shakur was shot.“And Duane Davis, in the culture of gangs, could not let that stand,” Palal said.Add to that the testimony of James McDonald, who worked security at Knight’s club that night.“’That night, we know who did it,’” Palal said, indicating Davis and Anderson as he echoed McDonald’s words. “And Mr. Sanft follows up, ‘For what?’ ‘For the murder of Tupac.’”“Many years ago, OJ Simpson wrote the book, ‘If I Did It,’” Palal added, referencing Davis’ 2019 book, “Compton Street Legend.” “Duane Davis wrote the book, ‘I Did It.’”Receipts from the Excalibur and Monte Carlo place Anderson and others in Las Vegas that night. Surveillance video shows the attack on Anderson.Prosecutors said Davis had incentive to tell the truth when speaking to federal authorities in 2008, as he could face criminal charges if he lied.Anticipating Sanft’s argument, Palal said the defense attorney would say his client created the story about the shooting. Sanft said jurors needed no corroboration if they believed Davis’ statements. However, if they thought Davis lied, they did need other evidence.And if they believed a witness lied, they could disregard that person’s entire testimony.“If I say something, it should be proved by something else,” Sanft added.Focusing on Davis’ statements to law enforcement, Sanft said his client was cajoled and led to give certain information. He claimed Davis’ attorney at the time wasn’t representing Davis’ best interests and law enforcement kept the case file locked away.Davis also gave conflicting statements over the years, the defense attorney said.In one example, Davis said he waited for Shakur outside Club 662 for 15 minutes. In his book, he writes that he waited for 90 minutes.“Mr. Davis is not telling the truth,” Sanft said. “He’s telling a fiction.”Law enforcement also failed to prove key elements of the case, Sanft said. Officers couldn’t prove the attack at the California mall, which prosecutors have said led to the MGM Grand beating, ever occurred. No one could prove his client was in Las Vegas the night someone shot Shakur, Sanft said.A woman at the shooting scene testified that no one called Shakur’s name moments before the gun fired. However, Davis has said he only noticed Shakur because people were calling his name.Also, showing a picture of the shooting scene at night, Sanft said his client couldn’t have seen Shakur because of the lighting.“Do not presume anything in this case,” Sanft said.The defense attorney acknowledged a question he thought many jurors might ask themselves: why would Davis make these statements if they were lies?“He wanted to protect himself, he wanted to protect his family and he wanted to make money,” Sanft said.“There’s no proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Davis committed any crime in this case, let alone murder,” he added.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads