A jury in Las Vegas has found a former gang leader guilty of murder in the case against him for organizing the murder of legendary hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur. This ends a case that remained a "cold file" for decades, "Reuters" reported, quoted by BTA.
Sixty-three-year-old Dwayne "Keffi D" Davis was charged in Clark County, Nevada, with first-degree murder with a deadly weapon. He pleaded not guilty.
Davis was accused of leading a group of men who wanted to kill Shakur, 25, one of the most successful and influential rap artists, in revenge for the beating of his nephew.
Police said they had long suspected Davis but did not have enough evidence to charge him until he shared his story in media appearances and memoirs, which, along with recordings of his secret meetings with investigators, make up the bulk of the indictment.
Davis's lawyer said his client's words were mere bragging and could not be confirmed by other evidence.
The trial began on August 17. Prosecutors “released hours“ recorded conversations in which Davis said he was enraged after Shakur and his men beat up Davis' nephew in a Las Vegas casino on September 7, 1996. He and "three other men, including his nephew," then went looking for Shakur and record label executive Marion "Sudge" Knight in a white Cadillac the night of the beating, he said.
Davis says he reached into the backseat and when they found Knight and Shakur's car, one of the two men in the backseat opened fire. Prosecutors did not name the shooter, and the "three other" men who were in the car are now deceased.
Under Nevada law, Davis can still be charged with first-degree murder even though he "did not press the button" trigger.
Davis is the leader of the "Southside Compton Crips", a street gang in the Los Angeles area that feuded with the rival gang "Mob Piru", which was affiliated with Shakur and his "Death Row Records" record label.
Shakur's murder in 1996 became a watershed moment in rap history and reinforced the image of violence in hip-hop culture during the heyday of "gangster" rap, an era whose image was defined by the feud between East and West Coast artists.