After nearly 30 years of uncertainty surrounding the death of famed rapper Tupac Shakur, the former leader of the South Side Compton Crips Duane "Keffe D." Davis has been found guilty of his murder.

Tupac's death in 1996 during a drive-by shooting has been one of popular culture's great mysteries, with countless theories but no arrests until 2023, when Davis was unexpectedly charged with murder.

Over the past few weeks, the Las Vegas trial has centred around a 2019 memoir Davis published, in which he wrote that he had provided the weapon used to kill Tupac.

Davis and his lawyer argued this was fiction and bravado used to sell books, but the jury only took a few hours to reach a guilty verdict.

As BBC News North America correspondent Shaimaa Khalil writes, Davis's own accounts ultimately led to his conviction.

However, this may not be the end of the story. After the closing arguments were read out, the former gang boss told the court he would appeal.

You can read more in our story here.

Shaimaa Khalil
North America correspondent

Before this trial began, I sat down with Tupac's stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur.

He told me he was cautiously optimistic but after nearly 30 years of disappointment, he was not taking anything for granted.

He described the night he heard Tupac had been shot – racing to Las Vegas and sitting beside him in the hospital as his family waited and hoped.

Mopreme also spoke about their long search for justice and the years of questions surrounding his brother's death.

But one thing he said has stayed with me: "The justice I would like, I'll never get. I want my little brother back."

He will not get his brother back. But nearly three decades after Tupac was killed, someone has finally been found guilty of his murder.

Image source, Getty Images

Nearly all of those present when Tupac was shot have also died.

Marion "Suge" Knight, who was driving the car that Tupac was in, is one of two survivors. He is currently serving a life sentence for a fatal hit and run.

Keffe D. Davis is the only other living person who was there. He was in the white Cadillac from which the shots were fired, alongside three other men: Orlando Anderson, Terrence Brown and Deandre Smith.

Anderson died in a shooting two years after Tupac's death, while Brown was killed in a separate shooting in 2015. Smith died in 2004.

As the verdict was read aloud in court, Davis sat with his hands folded on the table in front of him. He appeared stony-faced, looking forward and showing little reaction.

Tupac’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, could be seen with a tear streaming down her face as she reached back to touch someone behind her and people next to her put their arms around her.

Davis' son covered his face with one hand, the Associated Press reports.

Shaimaa Khalil
North America correspondent, Los Angeles

At the heart of the prosecution’s case were Davis' own words. In interviews, a memoir and conversations with police, he repeatedly placed himself inside the car used for the 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur.

Keffe D Davis published a memoir in 2019 titled Compton Street Legend, in which he wrote that he was in the white Cadillac. The former leader of the South Side Compton Crips also wrote that he had provided the weapon used to kill the rapper.

He had spoken, too, about Tupac attacking his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, as cause for retaliation. During the trial, a clip was played in which he urged people to buy the book for the "real truth", which the prosecutor said was a "textbook" admission of his guilt.

This was the crux of what the prosecution had told the jury. Davis did not pull the gun. But he acquired the weapon and gave the go-ahead for the killing.

Davis' defence tried to persuade jurors that those accounts were fiction: bravado and exaggeration intended to sell books. His own lawyer portrayed him as a liar whose stories could not be trusted. But jurors rejected that argument.

Nearly 30 years after Tupac was killed, Davis' own accounts ultimately led to his conviction.

Image source, Getty Images

The shooting came at a time when gangs had a hold over the '90s hip-hop scene. That meant street code forbade police cooperation and distrust of authorities was rampant in the wake of the high-profile police brutality case of Rodney King and the subsequent LA riots.

Shakur himself, in an ambulance after he was shot, refused to talk to a police officer about what happened, instead telling him, "we'll take care of it". He died in hospital six days later.

And now 30 years on, some of the trial’s witnesses have appeared conflicted over breaking that street code. James “Mob James” McDonald, who said he had little love for Davis, remained hesitant when he took the stand to recount what happened.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

McDonald - a former member of rival Blood street gang offshoot Mob Piru and enforcer for the record label that represented Shakur - was questioned by Davis's defence attorney Michael Sanft about what he knew.

"I don't want to send him to prison, even though we don't like each other. I don't want to send you to prison," he said looking at Davis, who sat in a suit, stone-faced.

Under oath, McDonald raised his voice and arms, saying he didn't want to answer many of these questions because it "wouldn't be good" for the defendant.

McDonald looked over at Davis at one point, saying: "Talk to your lawyer man, this dude is tripping".

That fatal night of 7 September 1996 began when Tupac Shakur and record producer Suge Knight attended a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

After the match, surveillance footage captured Tupac and members of his entourage, who police have said were associated with the Mob Piru Bloods street gang, attacking a man named Orlando Anderson, an alleged member of the South Side Compton Crips and the nephew of Duane Davis.

About three hours after the attack, Tupac was riding in the passenger seat of Knight's BMW driving through Las Vegas when a white Cadillac pulled alongside them and opened fire.

Tupac was hit four times and died six days later.

The prosecution argued Davis ordered the hit, and was there to see it carried out - and the jury on Tuesday found the former gang leader guilty of murder.

Tupac Shakur, who stylised his stage name to 2Pac, is one of the biggest names in rap music history, his popularity peaking around the time of his death.

Shakur was born in East Harlem, New York City in 1971, and in his 20s became renowned for songs that touched on social issues like inequality and racism.

He released his debut album in 1991, 2Pacalypse Now, and went on to enjoy chart success with multiple hits including California Love, All Eyez on Me, Changes and I Ain't Mad at Cha.

The mystery surrounding his drive-by death at the age of 25 has gripped the globe for decades, and has been a significant source of rumour, conspiracy and anger - "Is Tupac really dead?" becoming a question uttered by many fans and true crime slueths.

Image source, Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty

Since the beginning of the trial, the defence has told us that there is no evidence that Davis was in Vegas on the night of the 7 September 1996.

It is one of the highest profile cities on Earth - with security cameras in every casino, bar and hotel, and on the night in question extra officers were patrolling the streets because of a Mike Tyson fight.

But despite that, there was not a picture, ticket stub or eye witness presented to the jury that could place Davis in the city where the crime was committed.

With the lack of material evidence, this case has boiled down to one man’s word - the defendant’s.

We have sat through hours of recordings from 2008-2009 in which Davis admitted to his part in the murder.

Just before the courtroom emptied out, the judge set Davis' sentencing date for October 13.

While reading out the procedural steps that are due to take place, the defendant appeared to interrupt by raising his hand.

"I would like my stuff," he said, rattling off some personal items including his phone.

He continued: "I would like to appeal this matter". The judge then explained that this could occur once sentencing had concluded.

Image source, Reuters

A jury has now found Duane "Keffe D" Davis responsible for the hit on Tupac.

A former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang, Davis was the "on-ground, on-site commander" who "ordered the death" of Shakur after a fight involving his nephew at a Las Vegas casino, prosecutors had argued.

Davis denied the charges, and his defence team said there is no evidence he orchestrated the murder.

Tupac’s murder case had largely gone cold until public statements made by Davis himself, who published a memoir in 2019 in which he claims he was a passenger in the vehicle that fired into Tupac’s car.

He says in the book that he gave the gun used in the murder to his nephew, Orlando Anderson, who shot the rapper.

Davis was arrested in September 2023.

Defence attorneys argue the book is fictional - but a judge ruled it could be introduced in court.

This has all unfolded really quickly.

The jury deliberated for just three hours before reaching their verdict, finding Davis guilty of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon.

Each juror was then asked to confirm with a simple "yes" that this is the verdict they agreed on for Davis.

Duane "Keffe D" Davis did not change his expression as the jury announced the guilty verdict.

He appeared to sit impassively while he learned his fate.

The 63-year-old was then unceremoniously walked out of the court alongside officers.

The jury has said they have found Davis guilty of murdering Tupac Shakur near the Las Vegas Strip on 7 September 1996.

The drive-by shooting that killed rap superstar Tupac Shakur on 7 September 1996 changed the trajectory of hip-hop and elevated the rapper from the face of the genre to a cultural icon.

His killing became one of popular culture's great mysteries, with countless theories but no arrests until 2023, when Duane "Keffe D" Davis was unexpectedly charged with murdering the famous rapper.

For the past few weeks, Davis, a 63-year-old former gang boss, has been on trial in Las Vegas.

He's accused of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He's pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces life in prison without parole.

The jury has reached a verdict in the trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis.

We will shortly be hearing whether he has been found guilty of the murder of rap icon Tupac Shakur in 1996.

Stay with us as we bring you live updates from the court in Las Vegas.