Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the former gang leader convicted over the 1996 murder of American rapper Tupac Shakur, has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison in Nevada.

Davis was sentenced on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, by Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny in Las Vegas, following his conviction for first-degree murder in August.

The sentence consists of two consecutive terms of 20 years to life, reflecting the murder conviction and the use of a deadly weapon. Davis, 63, has indicated that he intends to appeal the verdict.

Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, while travelling in a BMW driven by Marion “Suge” Knight, the co-founder of Death Row Records. The shooting occurred in Las Vegas after the pair attended a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand.

A white Cadillac pulled alongside their vehicle at a traffic light, and occupants opened fire. Shakur was struck four times and died in hospital on September 13, aged 25. Knight survived the attack.

Prosecutors linked the shooting to an earlier confrontation at the MGM Grand involving Shakur and Orlando Anderson, Davis’s nephew. Surveillance footage showed Shakur and members of his entourage attacking Anderson inside the hotel.

According to the prosecution, the confrontation prompted a retaliatory attack later that evening. Davis was alleged to have helped arrange the shooting, with the other occupants of the Cadillac carrying out the attack.

The case remained unresolved for decades until investigators renewed their efforts and searched Davis’s home in Henderson, Nevada, in July 2023. He was arrested in September that year and became the only person charged in connection with Shakur’s killing.

Evidence presented during the trial included Davis’s statements to investigators, his public accounts of the shooting and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend. In the book, he discussed his alleged involvement in the events surrounding the rapper’s death.

Davis had previously spoken to investigators in 2008 during an inquiry connected to the 1997 murder of rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G. His accounts of the Shakur shooting later became a significant part of the prosecution’s case.

The defence challenged the reliability of Davis’s statements, arguing that he had exaggerated or fabricated details. His lawyer, Michael Sanft, also questioned the lack of forensic evidence independently placing Davis in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.

Despite the defence’s arguments, a jury found Davis guilty of first-degree murder in August 2026.

During Tuesday’s sentencing, Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, and his brother, Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, addressed the court about the lasting impact of the rapper’s death on their family.

The prosecution sought the maximum punishment, arguing that Davis had profited from accounts of the killing, including through his memoir. Judge Kierny also addressed the lasting consequences of Shakur’s death when delivering the sentence.

Davis and his lawyer have indicated that they intend to challenge the conviction on appeal.

Shakur, widely known by his stage name 2Pac, was one of the most influential figures in 1990s hip-hop. His albums, including Me Against the World and All Eyez on Me, helped establish his legacy as a rapper and actor.

His death, followed by Wallace’s murder in Los Angeles in March 1997, became closely associated with the tensions surrounding the East Coast–West Coast rivalry in American hip-hop during the 1990s.

Nearly 30 years after Shakur’s killing, Davis’s sentencing brings the trial and punishment phase of the case to a close, although his planned appeal means further legal proceedings may follow.