Ex- gang leader Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting death of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas.
Davis, 63, found guilty of first-degree murder in August, received the penalty during a hearing in a Las Vegas courtroom on Tuesday, October 13.
“You don’t get to take a man from his family,” the judge told Davis in announcing his decades behind bars. Acknowledging how long it has taken for justice to be served in the death of the hip hop icon, she added: “You don’t get to take his very life, his whole future, from him …especially when that man is Tupac Shakur.”
The prosecution against the alleged mastermind had asked for the max prison sentence.
“He’s the only one who’s trying to profit off a killing that he committed, and for that he doesn’t deserve the minimum sentence,” prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo told the court. “He deserves the maximum possible sentence because he’s earned it through his actions, his behavior, and who he is as he stands here today.”
Davis attorney, Michael Sanft, asked that he be sentenced to 40 years in prison but noted that they will be appealing his conviction.
Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa, and brother, Maurice, gave statements before Judge Carli Kierny laid down the sentence.
“The loss of Tupac for a long time crippled my entire family emotionally, mentally,” Sekyiwa said. “I’ve been hospitalized multiple times for depression, suicidal ideation, and trauma. I miss my brother. I do. I miss his skin. I miss his scars on his head. He had a strawberry on his chest. I miss the way he ate. Miss his recipe for chicken. Miss his laugh,” she added.
Her brother, Maurice, spoke in much shorter but decisive terms.
“The impact from my brother’s murder has been devastating, heartbreaking, and sad for me, my family, and a nation of Tupac fans and loved ones,” he said. “Pac didn’t get us a chance to have any kids. Pac didn’t see his nieces and nephews grow up,” he added, before declaring he hopes Davis receives the max prison sentence possible.
Davis was charged with masterminding Shakur’s murder after he owned up to it while trying to dodge potential charges in 2008, and later detailed the entire plot in a 2019 memoir that ended up leading to his 2023 arrest.
