Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was gunned down in Las Vegas, his convicted killer rolled his eyes at the judge and delivered a defiant statement as he was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
On Sept. 7, 1996, 25-year-old Tupac Shakur was in Las Vegas with Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight to watch Mike Tyson face Bruce Seldon in a heavyweight boxing match at the MGM Grand.
While the fight lasted just 109 seconds, a deadly confrontation was about to unfold outside the ring.
At the center of the violence that followed was 33-year-old Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a leader of the Southside Compton Crips, who was in Las Vegas with several associates, including his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.
The trouble started inside the MGM Grand, where Shakur and members of his entourage attacked Anderson in the lobby following an earlier confrontation involving rival gangs.
‘Hunting’ for Shakur
According to CNN, Davis and his associates responded by “hunting” for Shakur, eventually spotting him riding in the passenger seat of a black BMW with Knight at the wheel.
As the car waited at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip, a white Cadillac pulled alongside it, and gunfire erupted.
Shakur was struck four times, suffering devastating injuries that included damage to one of his lungs. Knight survived the shooting, but the rapper died six days later, on Sept. 13.
For years, the murder remained unsolved, with investigators struggling to gather evidence and witnesses reluctant to speak about the deadly confrontation.
Yet the man who would eventually be convicted of organizing the killing was already telling his version of the story.
The confession that changed everything
Over the years, Davis spoke freely about the shooting in interviews and documentaries, but in 2019, he went even further, publishing a memoir titled “Compton Street Legend,” in which he described his involvement in Shakur’s death.
“I’m one of the only living eyewitnesses to Tupac’s killing, who also knows the much larger story around the reasons why both Tupac and Biggie were killed,” he wrote.
“I know the real f**king story,” Davis said.
According to CNN, Davis explained that the shooting was retaliation for the attack on his nephew. He also described sitting in the front passenger seat of the Cadillac, driven by Terry “Bubble Up” Brown, and passing a gun to someone in the back, where the shots were fired.
‘Rolled down the window, popped’
During a 2008 police interview, Davis also identified Anderson – who was in the backseat next to Deandrae “Freaky” Smith – as the person who fired at Shakur, saying that he “leaned over on the window, he rolled down the window, popped.”
Those accounts became central to the prosecution’s case, allowing investigators to revisit a murder that had remained unresolved for almost three decades.
Davis was eventually charged in 2023, becoming the only person ever prosecuted in connection with Shakur’s killing. The three other men who were in the Cadillac that night had all died before facing any criminal charges.
AP reports that Anderson was killed in an unrelated shootout in 1998, Brown was shot to death in 2015, and Smith died of “natural causes” in 2004 at age 30.
‘Going to face justice’
Following a trial in Las Vegas, jurors found the former gang leader guilty of first-degree murder on August 31, 2026, after deliberating for only three hours.
Then, on Oct. 13, Judge Carli Kierny sentenced Davis to 40 years to life in prison, bringing a measure of justice to a killing that had remained unsolved for nearly three decades.
“You don’t get to take a man from his family,” Kierny told Davis during sentencing, according to Court TV. “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, and neither did Las Vegas. Took us 30 years, but at this time, you are going to face justice for what you did on Sept. 7, 1996,” she added.
Davis rolls eyes at judge
Davis, now 63, received credit for 731 days already served, but his behavior during sentencing also drew attention, with Court TV reporting that he rolled his eyes at the judge.
When given an opportunity to speak, Davis made it clear that his immediate concern was recovering property seized from his home.
“I just want my stuff back that they took out of my house. I just want all my stuff back,” he told Kierny.
But when the judge asked whether he had anything else to say, Davis offered a brief response before announcing his intention to challenge the verdict.
“I’m good. I’m gonna appeal this case for sure,” he said.
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