A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
After almost 30 years, it took a jury three hours to convict a former gang member in the killing of rap superstar Tupac Shakur. The prosecution never claimed that Duane Davis pulled the trigger. They did say he orchestrated the drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas strip. Here's Steve Futterman.
STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: It has been one of the most high-profile and unsolved killings for decades. Yesterday, Tupac Shakur, the rap superstar and voice of a generation of hip-hop fans, finally received justice.
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UNIDENTIFIED JUROR: We the jury in the above entitled case find the defendant, Duane Keith Davis, guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon.
FUTTERMAN: The 63-year-old Davis, a former gang leader, showed little emotion when the verdict was read. While the 1996 killing gripped Shakur's legion of followers with all sorts of wild speculation, law enforcement had always largely focused on Davis. There was simply never enough evidence until 2019. And it came from an unexpected source, Duane Davis himself, specifically his memoir, where he described his involvement, including supplying the murder weapon. Throughout the trial, Davis' words, written and spoken, took center stage. And prosecutor Binu Palal urged the jury in closing arguments to just believe him.
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BINU PALAL: For nearly 18 years, Duane Davis has told the police - anybody that will listen, he has told, he is responsible for the murder at Tupac Shakur. Tell him you hear him. Find him guilty.
FUTTERMAN: Defense attorney Michael Sanft had to convince jurors that Davis' seeming confessions were embellishments. But when your client has said it so many times over so many years, he suggested law enforcement simply accepted Davis' words as fact.
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MICHAEL SANFT: What the state wants you to do is take that book, like you would an affidavit or a promise at the bottom of an application for credit, and sign it, saying that I attest to this book being true and correct with regards to what he recalls.
FUTTERMAN: After the verdict, there were some fans at the courthouse who said they still believe others may have played a role. While Davis didn't fire the gun that killed Shakur, prosecutors say he is the only person still alive who was in the vehicle where the shots were fired. Davis is to be sentenced in October. He faces life in prison without parole.
For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Las Vegas.
(SOUNDBITE OF FRANCO MICALIZZI'S "SPIES AND GUYS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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