Duane Davis found guilty of murdering Tupac Shakur

Almost 30 years after the murder of US rapper Tupac Shakur, former gang leader Duane Davis has been found guilty. In a trial in Las Vegas, the jury found it proven that the 63-year-old was responsible for the rapper's death.

Tupac Shakur was one of the most influential and successful rappers of the 1990s and is still considered one of the most influential figures in hip-hop today. The musician, known for hits like “California Love” and “Changes,” sold millions of records worldwide. The then 25-year-old rapper was shot in a car in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996 and died in the hospital six days later. His influence on rap music and pop culture extended far beyond his death.

Davis is not accused of shooting Shakur himself. The public prosecutor sees the former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang as the mastermind of the fatal attack. According to the prosecution, he organized the retaliation and obtained the weapon. Under Nevada state law, someone who aids another in the act can also be convicted of murder.

Defense attorney calls Davis' previous statements fabricated

The former gang leader was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2023 and charged with, among other things, murder with the use of a deadly weapon. He pleaded not guilty in court.

However, he had previously spoken publicly several times about the fact that he was sitting in the white Cadillac from which the shots were fired at Shakur. He had said in interviews and also wrote in his autobiography that he was the only inmate still alive. But his nephew fired the fatal shots, he said during an interrogation in 2008.

In order to refute the earlier statements, defense attorney Michael Sanft portrayed his client as a liar and braggart in the trial. Gentle argued that he invented many things in order to capitalize on them.