Michael Sanft, the Las Vegas defense attorney who represented Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the Tupac Shakur murder trial, has died, according to the Clark County Coroner’s Office, KSNV News 3 reported Friday, Nov. 6.
The coroner’s office has not said when or how he died. Las Vegas police referred questions to the coroner, and no other details about his death have been released.
A career spent in front of juries
Sanft had been a member of the Nevada bar since 2002 and earned his law degree from Brigham Young University, News 3 reported. According to the biography on his website, he grew up in Tonga, where his family lived without electricity, before moving to San Diego as a child. He tried more than 150 cases to a jury verdict.
His clients also included former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore, who was convicted of federal wire fraud and later pardoned by President Donald Trump.
The Tupac Shakur case
Sanft became widely known for defending Davis, the only person charged in the 1996 killing of Shakur in Las Vegas. He delivered the defense’s closing argument on Aug. 31. A jury convicted Davis, who was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison, and Davis had planned to appeal, according to News 3.
Colleagues remember him
Members of the local legal community paid tribute on Friday. Las Vegas attorney Michael Troiano called Sanft “a genuinely honest, humble and good human being” and an extremely talented trial lawyer.
What it means for locals and visitors
Sanft was one of the most recognizable defense lawyers in Las Vegas courtrooms during a trial that drew worldwide attention to the city. It was not immediately clear who will handle Davis’s planned appeal. Vegas Daily Wire will update this story if the coroner’s office releases more information or if memorial plans are announced.
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