Michael Sanft, the Las Vegas attorney who represented Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the murder trial over the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, was found dead at his home Friday morning, days after filing an appeal against the conviction.
Sanft, 55, was discovered inside his Las Vegas residence, according to his friend Michael Sloan, who spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Police said the death did not appear suspicious. The cause and manner of death have not been determined.
The discovery came a week after Sanft filed a notice of appeal on October 30 challenging Davis’ conviction. Davis, 63, was sentenced on October 13 to 40 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon.
Shakur was 25 when he was shot four times in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas in September 1996. He died in a hospital six days later. Prosecutors said Davis masterminded the killing. He had spoken about his involvement while seeking to avoid possible charges in 2008 and later claimed credit for the shooting in his 2019 memoir.
Davis’ nephew, Orlando Anderson, was identified as the gunman. Anderson had been involved in a fight with Shakur at the MGM Grand casino on the Las Vegas Strip hours before the shooting. Anderson was killed in a shootout two years after Shakur’s death. Davis was the first person charged in connection with the rapper’s murder.
Sanft, a prominent Nevada defense lawyer, represented Davis without charge. After the verdict, he said he and his legal team had done everything possible. “We had the best team possible in this case, from the motion practice work on this appeal to our investigator to our firm here at SOS Injury. We all did our part. I don’t see what I could’ve done differently,” Sanft said.
He also recalled speaking with Davis after the guilty verdict. “He had reminded me this is phase one. Because I was upset with the verdict, I was very disappointed in the jury. Mr. Davis was the one who said, ‘Don’t worry about it, man, this is the first phase,’ and I said, ‘I understand, I hate to lose,’” Sanft said.
Sanft is survived by his two children.
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