Keffe D sentenced to 40 years to life for Tupac Shakur murder

Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for his role in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, following a hearing in Las Vegas on Tuesday, October 13 2026.

Davis was convicted on August 31 2026 of murder with the use of a deadly weapon, with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Shakur was 25 when he was fatally shot in a drive-by attack near the Las Vegas Strip.

Despite the conviction, Davis has maintained his innocence and indicated that he intends to appeal the verdict.

During the sentencing hearing, Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, spoke about the lasting impact of her brother’s death on their family.

She said the men in the family had never been the same since his killing and compared his legacy with influential figures including Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr and John F. Kennedy.

Sekyiwa questioned how history might have been different if those leaders had been killed at the age of 25, as her brother was.

Tupac’s stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur, also addressed the court, expressing sadness that the rapper never had children of his own or the chance to watch his nieces and nephews grow up.

Both family members urged the judge to impose the maximum sentence.

Prosecutors argued that Davis had continued to cause suffering for the family by profiting from Shakur’s murder through a book and media interviews.

However, defence attorney Michael Sanft challenged the prosecution’s position, arguing that authorities could have charged Davis years earlier but had not done so.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter following his conviction, Davis claimed he was nowhere near the scene of the shooting. He alleged that he was at a bar in West Los Angeles, near UCLA, after a Mike Tyson boxing match.

Davis now faces a sentence of 40 years to life while preparing to challenge his conviction on appeal.