Michael Sanft, the defense lawyer who represented Duane "Keefe D" Davis during the Tupac Shakur murder trial this year, has reportedly passed away, according to FOX 5 Vegas. Per sources, authorities in Las Vegas reported him deceased on Thursday night (November 5).
As for the cause of death and other details, those are not publicly available at press time. FOX5 reportedly reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Clark County Coroner's Office for more information, with no word back as of writing this article.
Sanft was reportedly SOS Injury Lawyers' lead trial attorney and tried over 150 cases to jury verdict before the Ninth Circuit of Appeals. He represented Davis pro bono during his Vegas trial, which resulted in Keefe D's conviction and a 40-years-to-life prison sentence. He planned to appeal the conviction, and it's currently unclear how this will affect those proceedings.
According to KSNV, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department referred questions around Sanft's passing to the Clark County Coroner's Office. The attorney reportedly grew up on the island of Tonga and moved to San Diego as a child. Later, he received his law degree from Brigham Young University and joined the Nevada state bar in 2002, where he remained until his passing.
Michael Sanft
In an interview with FOX5, Michael Sanft reportedly said he would not have done anything differently for his client Duane "Keefe D" Davis' trial. "Maybe if I had a psychic sitting next to me to help discern who should be on the jury," he reportedly expressed.
"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," Sanft reportedly shared. "We all did our part. I don’t see what I could’ve done differently... [Davis and I] were just sitting there taking in the moment. 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."
Rest In Peace Michael Sanft.
*This story is being updated.*
