Former gang leader sentenced to 40 years to life for Tupac Shakur murder

A former gang leader was sentenced ​to 40 years to life in prison on Tuesday for orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting death of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas, capping the prosecution of a long-unsolved murder that shaped the golden age of rap music. Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, found guilty of first-degree murder in August, received the penalty during ​a hearing in a ‌Las Vegas courtroom. Until Davis’ 2023 arrest, the killing of Shakur, shot dead in the passenger seat of an SUV ⁠driven by his record executive, Marion “Suge” Knight, had stood for nearly three decades as one of America’s most notorious cold cases. The murder, which silenced one of rap’s most commercially successful and influential artists, heightened the image of violence ‌permeating 1990s hip-hop culture while stoking the infamous East Coast-West Coast “gangsta” rap feud of the era. Despite Davis’ conviction, the ⁠question of who pulled the trigger in the fatal shooting of the 25-year-old rap legend has never been conclusively decided. Davis was tried and convicted for masterminding the murder to avenge the beating of his nephew by Shakur and members of the rapper’s entourage inside the MGM ​Grand casino o...