Duane Davis, a former leader of the Crips gang who was convicted of killing rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996, was sentenced on Tuesday to 40 years to life in prison.
The 63-year-old Davis was found guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon in August. The sentence was handed down by Judge Carli Kierny at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“The world has never forgotten him and his death,” the judge said of the legendary rapper.
Tupac’s brother and sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur and Maurice Shakur, addressed the court before sentencing, delivering emotional statements about the devastating impact of the musician’s death on their family.
Sekyiwa described the night her brother was killed as “a night of hunting and killing.”
“He was my guiding star — my prince,” she said.
The rapper’s sister urged the judge to impose the harshest possible sentence on Davis for the pain he had caused her family and the world. Fighting back tears, she recalled how her brother had always protected her and said that, since his death, she had spent three decades without his support.
Sekyiwa said Tupac’s death had “emotionally broken” their family. In the years following the tragedy, she repeatedly ended up in hospital because of depression, suicidal thoughts, psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, she told the court.
Davis listened to her statement in prison clothing and handcuffs, maintaining a blank expression as the rapper’s sister struggled to hold back tears while describing her brother’s brutal killing.
“Both of my children grew up surrounded by my grief, so they struggle with trust, feelings of abandonment and building relationships,” Sekyiwa said.
Before the sentence was announced, prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo told the court that Davis was “guaranteed to die behind bars.”
Prosecutors argued that Tupac’s killing was not simply the loss of a family member. They also alleged that Davis later attempted to profit from the crime.
Investigators believe Davis orchestrated the attack after members of Shakur’s entourage assaulted his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, just hours before the shooting. The confrontation took place at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas following Mike Tyson’s boxing match.
According to prosecutors, Davis supplied the gun and coordinated the events that led to the celebrated musician’s death, although he was not the person who fired the shots.
Davis remains the only person ever charged with Tupac’s murder. The three other men who were in the car at the time have since died.
During the trial, Davis’s lawyers argued that there was insufficient direct physical evidence linking their client to the killing.
After nine days of testimony, the jury deliberated for three hours before returning a guilty verdict. The defense plans to appeal the conviction.
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