Lawyer Michael Sanft who defended Tupac's killer at trial found dead aged 55
The lawyer who represented Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, who was convicted of organizing Tupac's killing, has died aged 55.
Michael Sanft's body was found inside his Las Vegas home on Friday morning, according to the told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Police say the death does not appear to be suspicious. No cause of death or further details have been released.
His friend, Michael Sloan, told the outlet: “He was one of my best friends and one of the best human beings I knew."
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The Clark County District Court marshal added that his pal 'lived life like a rockstar.'
Marc DiGiacomo, who was one of the prosecutors on the Davis case, added: “Michael Sanft was one of the premier defense attorneys in Las Vegas, and Las Vegas lost a good lawyer and more importantly to me, I lost a friend."
Following a two-week trial in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, the jury deliberated for less than three hours on before returning a unanimous guilty verdict on August 31 2026.
Davis was found guilty of first-degree murder for orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that claimed the life of Tupac Shakur, who was 25 at the time.
Prosecutors acknowledged that Davis did not pull the trigger himself, however, they argued under Nevada law that he served as the 'shot-caller.'
In October, he was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
Before handing out the sentence, Judge Carli Kierny said: "You don't get to take a man from his family.
"You don't get to take his very life, his whole future from him, and just walk away from it. Especially when that man is Tupac Shakur. The world never forgot about him and his death. and neither did Las Vegas.
"Took us 30 years, but at this time, you are going to face justice for what you did on September 7, 1996."
In an interview with FOX5 after the trial, Snaft said he said he 'didn't see what he could have done differently.'
“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."
He was the third attorney to take on the case.
Despite the shooting happening 28 years ago, Davis' criminal conviction was the first and only in the murder case.
Court documents obtained by the outlet reportedly state that Sanft filed an appeal challenging Davis' conviction on October 30.
Topics: Tupac Shakur, Las Vegas, Crime
Kiesha Dosanjh
