Former gang boss Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been found guilty of orchestrating the murder of Tupac Shakur – the first conviction in a cold case that has intrigued hip-hop fans for nearly 30 years.
The jury found him guilty of one count of murder with a deadly weapon for the rap superstar’s death in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas on 7 September 1996.
Dressed in a black suit, the 63-year-old stood impassively in the Las Vegas court as the verdict was read, before saying he would appeal.
During the trial, the court heard a recording of a police interview in 2008 in which Davis said he was in the car from which shots were fired, but did not himself fire the bullets that killed Shakur.
Prosecutors argued that although Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang, did not himself fire the gun, he ordered the shooting and supplied the gun that his nephew Orlando Anderson used to open fire.
Anderson died in an unrelated shooting in 2008, having denied involvement in the killing of Shakur.
As the verdict was read out on Monday, Shakur’s relatives held hands, some hugging and crying.
Shakur was 25 when he was slain at the height of his career as one of rap’s most influential voices. He has sold more than 75 million records worldwide.
For 30 years, the case remained one of America’s most famous cold cases, spurring countless conspiracies – but never a conviction, until now.