Thirty years after Tupac Shakur was fatally shot in Las Vegas, Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for his role in the rapper’s murder.
A Nevada jury convicted the 63-year-old Davis in August of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon.
On Tuesday, Judge Carli Kierny sentenced Davis to two consecutive terms of 20 years to life, meaning he will not become eligible for parole until he has served at least 40 years.
Prosecutors argued that Davis orchestrated the September 1996 shooting following a confrontation involving Tupac, members of his entourage and Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Tupac was riding in a vehicle with Death Row Records founder Suge Knight when another car pulled alongside them and someone opened fire. Tupac died six days later at just 25 years old.
Davis has admitted that he was inside the Cadillac involved in the shooting but has maintained that he was not the person who pulled the trigger.
Members of Tupac’s family addressed the court before sentencing, speaking about the decades of pain caused by his death and the future that was taken away from him.
Davis’ attorneys have indicated that they plan to appeal his conviction and sentence.
The sentencing marks another major chapter in one of hip-hop’s longest-running murder investigations.