Duane 'Keffe D' Davis found guilty of orchestrating 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur

A jury has found Duane "Keffe D" Davis guilty of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur, marking the first conviction in a case that has gripped hip-hop fans for decades.

The 63-year-old Davis was convicted Monday of murder with the use of a deadly weapon and could be sentenced to life in prison. The jury deliberated for three hours after a weeks-long trial in Las Vegas.

After the verdict was read, Shakur's sister, Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur, cried and reached back to a person behind her. Also in the courtroom was Davis's son, who covered his face with one hand.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors in closing arguments that Davis acquired a gun and "went hunting" for Shakur and Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight after they beat up Davis's nephew earlier that night.

Palal acknowledged that Davis's accounts of the killing evolved over the years but argued those differences reflected Davis's changing motivations and efforts to protect himself. One critical detail, he said, remained consistent: Davis repeatedly placed himself inside a white Cadillac from which the shots were fired.

Davis's defence attorney, Michael Sanft, challenged jurors to identify evidence outside Davis's own statements that placed him in Las Vegas or inside the Cadillac on the night Shakur was shot. He pointed to the absence of surveillance footage, phone records and other evidence putting Davis there.

"They have nothing in this case that says that man was here in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996," Sanft said, pointing toward Davis.

The decades-old case has drawn the attention of hip-hop fans and crime experts alike.

Shakur, who was considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, was in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996, and stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up beside him, and shots were fired. He died six days later from his wounds. Knight was also wounded but survived.

For years, nobody had been charged in the rapper's death until Davis began making public statements, saying he was in the Cadillac and gave the gun to others in the backseat. Davis described the shooting as an act of retaliation after Knight and Shakur's entourage beat up Davis's nephew hours before the shooting.

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Under Nevada law, someone who helps another person commit murder can be convicted of the crime. Davis is the only person still alive among the four men prosecutors say were in the Cadillac. The man prosecutors say originally gave the gun to Davis is also dead.