Former gang member found guilty of murdering Tupac Shakur

Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a former Los Angeles gang leader, was found guilty on Monday by a Las Vegas court of the 1996 murder of chart-topping rapper Tupac Shakur.

Thirty years after the rap legend's death, the jury found Davis, 63, guilty of murder after just a few hours of deliberation.

"Count one, murder with use of a deadly weapon, guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon," the foreperson of the jury announced to the court.

Davis, who faces possible life in prison without parole, addressed Judge Carli Kierny after the verdict was announced and stated his intention to appeal.

The one-time leader of the South Side Compton Crips was accused of ordering the September 7, 1996 killing of the hip-hop artist after his own nephew had been beaten by members of Shakur's entourage at a Las Vegas casino.

"Duane Davis, in the culture of gangs, could not let that stand," prosecutor Binu Palal said during closing arguments. "So what did he do? He acquired a firearm, got his group together, and went hunting for Mr Shakur."

Shakur, who was in Las Vegas for a Mike Tyson heavyweight fight, was shot about two hours after the casino confrontation by a gunman in a white Cadillac that pulled up at a red light alongside the BMW in which the rapper was riding in the front passenger seat.

According to prosecutors, Davis handed the gun to someone sitting in the back seat of the Cadillac and ordered that person to shoot Shakur, who died six days later.

AFP