Former Crips leader found guilty of 1996 murder Tupac Shakur
Duane Davis, a former gang leader who was convicted of the orchestration of the death of Tupac Shakur is the first person to be convicted in the cold case which has fascinated hip-hop lovers for almost 30 years.
Davis was found guilty on one count of murder using a deadly firearm for killing the rap star in Las Vegas in 1996 during a drive by shooting.
The 63-year old, dressed in black, stood impassively as the Las Vegas judge read the verdict before announcing that he was appealing. Shakur’s family members held hands and some were crying or hugging.
Shakur, who was at the peak of his career and was one of rap music’s biggest voices when he died aged 25, was killed in his prime. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide.
The prosecution argued that while Davis, the former leader of South Side Compton Crips, didn’t fire the shot that killed Shakur he did order the shooting, and provided the gun to his nephew Orlando Anderson, who opened fire.
The court heard that Davis planned to shoot Anderson as revenge for Anderson’s involvement in an altercation with Shakur in Las Vegas, just hours before.
The case was one of America’s most notorious cold cases for 30 years. It sparked a plethora of conspiracies, but no convictions.
Shakur was murdered during a period of fierce rivalry in the East Coast and West Coast Rap scene, and amid the gang wars between Bloods and Crips. Hip-hop had its roots deep within the Bloods and Crips.
In court, the family was visibly emotional. His sister hugged a prosecutor when she heard the verdict while other people cried nearby.
Shakur’s devoted supporters were crying outside and cheering.
Davis’ own words were the key evidence, as he publicly and repeatedly acknowledged that he was inside the Cadillac where the fatal shots were fired.
He told police about his involvement in Shakur’s death, during an interview conducted secretly by the police on November 2008 to investigate Notorious B.I.G.
Davis expanded on his role further in his Compton Street Legend memoir from 2019.
His book and interviews with media revoked the protective agreement that he made with authorities to prevent any criminal charges from being brought. The court ruled his interview with police could be used as evidence in his murder trial.
Binu Palal, the prosecutor’s closing argument, told jurors that they should take Davis as he said and convict him.
Davis, Davis argued for years had told people that he was “responsible” for Tupac’s death through his documentaries, memoirs, podcasts, and an interview with the police.
Palal said to the jury that “he is the shot-caller” – in all instances, he has been the leader of South Side Crips.
When the person who calls shots is sitting at the gun when they are fired, it’s obvious that he’s to blame.
Davis’ defense team attempted to convince jurors throughout the trial that Davis was a fiction, a bravado-filled exaggerator who wanted to make money and sell books.
Michael Sanft, the lawyer for his client, pleaded with the jury in closing arguments to denounce his client as an unreliable liar and a man who only told stories to promote books.
He told the jury that “there’s no evidence.”
The jury reached its verdict within just a few hours after being presented with the case.
Before the court was cleared, Clark County District Judge Carli K. Kierny scheduled Davis’ sentencing on 13 October.
Davis raised his hand while reading some steps of the procedural case.
He told the judge that he would be happy to have his personal belongings, including his cell phone.

A producer of Obsession, who “rescued” a box-office smash from a poor edit, is suing her two co-producers for denying her her profit share.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday in California State Court by producer Leonora Darby. She accuses Tea Shop Productions co-founders James Harris and Mark Lane and their colleagues of breaking an agreement that she would be treated as an equal at the company, and for not acknowledging Obsession’s key role, which has financial implications.
Darby was officially credited with executive producing Obsession. However, according to the lawsuit, she acted as lead producer in the Tea Shop Productions’ internal, functional definition. The lawsuit claims that, conveniently, after Obsession was a big hit — crossing over $500 million in worldwide revenue on an estimated $750,000 budget, she lost out on net profits promised to her for the projects she led-produced.
“Ms. Darby’s claims are serious and substantive, and they have been supported with a thorough factual history,” her lawyer Thomas K. Richards, a Partner at Singh, Singh and Trauben, said in a press release. She is confident about her case, and plans to fully pursue it.
The Hollywood Reporter has contacted representatives of Tea Shop Productions, Barker and other companies for comments.
Darby began her career at Tea Shop Productions as an executive in development and production. She rose up the ranks and is now one of three producers working with Harris Lane. Her credits include the thrillers The Surfer (2024) and Tornado (2025) and horror films A Banquet (2021) among others. She engaged in 2024 compensation negotiations in order to solidify this rise. The parties agreed to give her a third of net profits from films she produced and to include participation in the collection account management agreement (deals made between those who are involved in the financial waterfall of a movie).
Darby became involved with Obsession when Curry Barker’s edit was taken from him and given to another editor. This arrangement, the complaint said, hurt the film. Darby demanded that the editor return the cut to Curry Barker, which was done. He also asked for the reshoots of the film to fix the issues.
The suit claims that Darby’s creative input, which included “discussions on how to establish the relationship between the male lead and the female character, her recommendations (which were adopted), and the decision to commit fully to the supernatural elements of the movie, such as making the One Wish Willow an element in reality, and one that worked in real life (the iconic’money’ scene confirming this), led to a completely new direction for the film.
According to her complaint, she took the lead in finalizing the film so that it could be submitted on time at the Toronto International Film Festival. Focus Features bought the movie for $16.2million.
Harris and Lane, however, allegedly violated their 2024 contract with Darby after Obsession became a big hit. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim that the two barred her from receiving public recognition for the work she did on the movie (including not inviting her participate in the Hollywood Reporter article), refused to invite her to premiere of the film and said Obsession would be “the one film where [she] will receive no further participation”.
Darby and Harris discussed the proceeds of the sale in spring. She noted that the information on the account she had was able to show her the earnings. The lawsuit claims that Harris eventually offered Darby $300,000. Both parties agreed to pay the initial payment and Darby would receive a share of the net profit afterward.
Her access to the collection account management agreements was then allegedly removed. The company offered her a consulting agreement in June. After Darby asked if the new agreement would negate the claim she had to one-third net profit, Lane informed her that compensation for Obsession in the future would be determined “where Harris and Lane feel appropriate.” Tea Shop Productions subsequently retracted the consulting agreement in favor of an agreement which stated Darby wouldn’t participate in Obsession profits.
According to the complaint, Darby’s treatment in Obsession culminated a trend of broken promise and diminution of her work with Tea Shop Productions. The complaint describes a pattern of “years long” promises made by Harris and Lane to Darby about equal treatment. They then memorialized this promise financially through Darby’s one-third share (33.3%) in net profits, while still maintaining control over how she would benefit.
Darby wants a complete accounting for several projects, including Obsession. She also demands any bonuses and profit sharing that are owed to her.

The idea of federal tax incentives for film and TV has been supported by both parties, but Republican legislators have waited to hear from the White House.
It appears that the word is out. In a Truth Social post on Monday, Donald Trump stated that he supports the idea of federal tax credits and wished to “get it done”.
Hollywood is a complete and total disaster! It is not a very busy place, despite its name. Trump said that there is “no incentive” to work in California. Jon [Voight], and others in the Industry are proposing we do Federal Tax Incentives to make our movie and television production business GREAT AGAIN. Perhaps GREATER than ever before!”
He added, “meetings with leaders from both parties are in the works.” He continued, “I will suggest that Republicans and Democrats come together and create legislation to immediately save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America.”
Trump urged Congress to pass such legislation that would give incentives for films and television shows shooting in the U.S., on top of state tax credits. A federal tax credit is seen by many as a necessary step to help the U.S. compete with other countries, such as Canada, Australia and the U.K.
What we see on the Silver Screen is what should be produced in the former Movie and Motion Picture Capital of the World. Trump concluded, “Let’s do this!”
In recent weeks, several key people trusted by President Obama have pushed for such an incentive. David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Skydance, met with Republican House members in July to discuss this idea. He was facing an antitrust suit from 12 states regarding his proposed mega-merger. Spencer Pratt, a former L.A. mayor candidate who ran for office in August, scheduled a meeting with Trump on the issue of tax credits.
The conversation which preceded the message, however, was between Trump’s “special envoy” in Hollywood, Jon Voight. Voight has been promoting the tax incentives for over a year, and has proven to be able to act as a go-between from L.A. to D.C.
Voight, Steven Paul, and Scott Karol, Voight’s business partners, met with industry organizations in early 2025. Later that year they spoke with President Trump, offering a variety of ideas to boost the entertainment industry in America. Trump was quick to adopt one of the initial suggestions, tariffs. However, he never imposed them on Hollywood. Voight is now trying to shift the discussion towards tax incentives in collaboration with Hollywood unions and the Motion Picture Association. He also has the support of independent filmmakers, vendors, industry groups, etc.
On Monday, MPA (the trade association representing major studios) and the streamers quickly celebrated Trump’s approval of the tax-credit idea.
In a press release, Charlie Rivkin, the chairman and CEO of the group, said that a federal incentive “would be a historic step towards bringing production to communities across all 50 States, strengthening our economy and making our nation a better place to create and tell stories.” We applaud the President’s backing for this important action and look forward to working with White House leaders and bipartisan members of Congress to pass a meaningful national incentive.
Directors Guild of America celebrated this development as well on Monday. The union’s executive director, Russell Hollander, stated that they were looking forward to working on the bipartisan legislation with Congress and the Administration. This will help promote domestic film and TV productions, create good jobs and strengthen America’s film and TV industry.
THR reported that both Senator Adam Schiff and Rep. Laura Friedman, Democrats, are outspoken advocates of federal tax credits legislation. On Monday, both made statements in support of Trump’s urgency.
In a rare statement, Schiff — who is rarely in agreement — stated that he was “strongly in accord with the President.” The Congress should pass an incentive for federal films to help bring these well-paying positions back to the United States.
Friedman said, “I also agree that the tax incentives legislation must be passed — and quickly.”
The form of the legislation is unclear, but sources in July told THR that a federal tax incentive might be included as part of a tax package. It could also be folded into a reconciliation bill or presented separately.

Gal Gadot, who played Wonder Woman as part of Zack Snyder’s DC Universe in 2016, made her debut in Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice.
In the year following, Wonder Woman was released. Gadot reprised her role for Justice League in 2017, and Wonder Woman 1984, released in 2020.
The third Wonder Woman movie was being developed by director Patty Jenkins. However, when James Gunn took over DC Studios with their plans for DCU and Peter Safran became the new owners of DC Studios it was cut.
Gadot revealed in a recent interview that she is not surprised to be cut from DCU despite having been told she would get a chance.
I saw how everyone else handled the situation. To say the least, it was not elegantly handled. Patty Jenkins was also not treated elegantly. Gadot stated on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast that “we’re adults, and we’re good.”
She added, “I’m so glad I had the chance to wear these booties and that the character was so celebrated. The next person I wish to come on this journey will be pure. It is a character that means so much for so many people. It wasn’t mine. I was never mine. “This is Hollywood.”
Gadot is promoting The Runner and has said that she would not be part of a Wonder Woman 3 movie even if asked to.
Gadot stated, “I am not certain I will do another Wonder Woman at this stage in my life. I have four kids and I attend different schools.” To check out for so long, that doesn’t fit into my current life.
You can watch the full interview with Gal Gadot in the video.

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Jaime Pressly, a Californian woman, was reported to have been kicked out of a hotel on Thursday for exhibiting unruly behavior, swearing and touching another guest.
According to TMZ the star of “My Name Is Earl”, who was scheduled to appear at GalaxyCon, had to leave Signia Hilton San Jose after guests complained about her loud phone usage, her use of F-bombs, and her drinking.
Security guards approached Pressly multiple times, and she was allegedly under the influence of alcohol as she talked on the telephone.
Pressly, according to the publication, initially ignored security guards who approached her. She continued her 30-minute phone call, while holding up her finger as a sign that she was not finished.
The witnesses reported that Pressly said, during the phone call: “Mommy Loves You,” and, “You’re the best divorced husband I ever had, and you do a good job with our children.”
Pressly has twin sons from her previous marriage to Simran Singh. She also shares a child with a former partner.
Pressly, after hanging up the phone, allegedly went to a bride at a hotel wedding, touched her and criticized the security guards.
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After the conversation, she received another call, and a guard finally stepped in to tell her “We’re finished.”
The actress of “Not Another Teen Movie”, who had launched a OnlyFans account earlier in the year, left for ten minutes outside to smoke before returning with the valet.
The actress returned to the bar and ordered another drink, before being led away by the security.
Page Six has confirmed that the San Jose Police Department did not respond to the incident.
Pressly canceled the appearance she had scheduled at GalaxyCon.
Page Six reported that a spokesperson from Signia Hilton San Jose said, “Given the privacy obligations we have, we’re unable to give any information.”
Page Six reached out to Pressly’s representatives but didn’t hear anything back.