Defense attorney for man convicted in Tupac Shakur killing dies in Las Vegas at 55

Michael Sanft, the Las Vegas lawyer who defended Duane "Keffe D" Davis at his trial in the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, has died at age 55, according to a Gray News report from KVVU that was carried by Valley News Live, WALB, Cleveland 19 and Live 5 News.

The Clark County coroner's office confirmed the death, which was reported Thursday night in Las Vegas, the outlets reported. The cause and manner of death have not been determined.

Few details about the circumstances were released. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department directed all questions to the coroner's office, according to the report.

Sanft took on Davis's defense without charging a fee. A Las Vegas jury convicted Davis in August, and his defense team said it intended to challenge the verdict. A notice of appeal was filed on Oct. 30, the outlets reported.

In an interview with FOX5 after the trial, Sanft credited his investigator, his firm and the attorneys who handled motions in the case, and said he had no regrets about how the defense was run. "I don't see what I could've done differently," he said, according to the report.

Sanft also described a conversation with Davis following the verdict. He said he had been disappointed in the jury's decision and that Davis reassured him by calling the trial only the first phase of the case, the outlets reported.

Sanft served as the lead trial attorney at SOS Injury Lawyers. According to the Gray News report, he took more than 150 cases to a jury verdict during his career and argued before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. His website states that he moved to San Diego at age 12 and later attended BYU-Hawaii.

Fellow attorney Mike Troiano described Sanft as honest, humble and a good person, and called him a highly skilled trial lawyer who was well liked by jurors and colleagues alike. "I'm in total shock by this news, as is the legal community as a whole," Troiano said, according to the report.

The report did not say who will represent Davis as his appeal moves forward.

Compiled by True News from reporting by Valley News Live, WALB, Cleveland 19 and Live 5 News. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/862