A Los Angeles federal jury acquitted Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk on Friday of orchestrating a 2022 murder-for-hire plot near the Beverly Center. The ambush shooting left the cousin of rival rapper Quando Rondo dead. Durk remains in custody ahead of an October trial on separate federal racketeering charges.
The Verdict and the Courtroom Scene
Following three days of deliberations, a federal jury delivered its decision on Friday, September 11, 2026, clearing Chicago hip-hop artist Durk Banks on all federal charges, as ABC7 reported. The courtroom drama concluded a two-week trial in downtown Los Angeles that drew high-profile supporters, including music stars Ye and Machine Gun Kelly, as NBC News detailed. Outside the courthouse, an energetic crowd of fans, livestreamers, and content creators wearing Free Durk t-shirts celebrated the outcome, according to nbcchicago.com.
The defense team celebrated the verdict as a historic milestone. Drew Findling, attorney for Banks, spoke to reporters outside the courthouse.
“Twenty-two months ago, Durk and I made an agreement that we would make history with the greatest verdict in this country, and it happened today. Durk is not guilty of all charges.”
Findling added, The shackles must come off, and he must walk free so that he can come home to his beautiful family and to the world that loves him,
as noted by billboard.com.
The Prosecution Case and the 2022 Shooting
Federal prosecutors told jurors that Banks set in motion a plan to stalk, hunt, and kill Tyquian Bowman, an Atlanta rapper known as Quando Rondo. According to the government, the intended hit was retaliation for the 2020 killing of Dayvon King Von Bennett, a close friend of Banks and a member of his Only the Family hip-hop collective, who was shot outside an Atlanta nightclub by an associate of Bowman, as reported by cbsnews.com.
Authorities alleged that Banks made it known he would pay a bounty to anyone who killed Rondo. Investigators stated that in August 2022, a group of men traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles with funds provided by Banks, following Rondo and his crew before opening fire on an Escalade near the Beverly Center shopping mall. Rondo survived the barrage of at least 18 rounds, but the gunfire killed his 24-year-old cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, also known as Lul Pab, in broad daylight on August 19, 2022.
Cooperating Witnesses and Defense Strategy
The prosecution’s case relied heavily on testimony from three alleged participants who pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government. Keith Flacka Jones, who pleaded guilty to Robinson’s murder, testified against Banks alongside Kavon OTF Vonnie Grant and Kacey OTF Jam Hester, according to trial records covered by economictimes.indiatimes.com. Cooperators told jurors that Banks offered cash rewards for the attack, although defense attorneys emphasized that no actual payments were completed.
Banks’ defense maintained that the rapper had no involvement in the scheme. Instead, his lawyers argued that Grant, who served as Banks’ personal assistant and had access to his credit cards, orchestrated the plot independently to impress his boss and later pinned the blame on a wealthier target in exchange for a lighter sentence.
Mixed Verdicts and Remaining Legal Hurdles
While Banks walked away acquitted of all charges against him, his co-defendants faced a different outcome. Deandre Dontrell Wilson and David Brian Lindsey were convicted of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking using a dangerous weapon, and stalking resulting in Saviay’a Robinson’s death, though they were likewise acquitted of murder-for-hire counts. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli addressed the mixed outcomes in a statement.
“Today, the jury delivered justice to the family of Saviay’a Robinson, finding defendants Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey guilty of stalking resulting in Mr. Robinson’s death. While we are disappointed with the jury’s decision regarding Durk Banks, a.k.a. ‘Lil Durk,’ we look forward to presenting our evidence at his second trial.”
Despite winning acquittal on the murder-for-hire indictment, Banks remains incarcerated. He is held pending a separate federal racketeering trial scheduled to begin on October 5, 2026, where he faces additional counts of racketeering murder and firearms charges stemming from accusations that he operated his OTF label as a violent gang.
