Rapper Lil Durk was acquitted on Friday of all charges in a federal murder-for-hire case that accused him of orchestrating a revenge killing in Los Angeles four years ago.
The Chicago artist, whose real name is Durk Devontay Banks, faced five felony counts, including murder for hire resulting in death and conspiracy. A conviction could have carried a life sentence. The verdict came after three days of jury deliberations in a three-week trial.
Prosecutors alleged that Banks put a bounty on Atlanta rapper Tyquian Bowman, known as Quando Rondo, in retaliation for the 2020 killing of his friend and label signee King Von. In August 2022, a car carrying Bowman was shot at a Los Angeles petrol station. Bowman was unharmed, but his cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, was killed.
The case relied on three cooperating witnesses who reached plea deals and testified against Banks and two co-defendants. One of them, Kacey Hester, said he had been a shooter in the attack and testified that Banks probed him for details afterward. Defense attorneys questioned Hester’s reliability, arguing he sought a more lenient sentence.
Assistant US Attorney Ian Yanniello told the court the killing did not happen without Banks. “No one is saying he was the one on the ground with a gun in his hand in Los Angeles, but you know this story doesn’t happen without him,” he said.
The two co-defendants, Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey, were convicted of stalking and conspiracy to commit stalking but acquitted of murder-for-hire charges, according to CBS News.
Banks, 33, remains in custody. He founded the label Only the Family in 2010 and won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for the single “All My Life” featuring J Cole.
He is due to stand trial again on October 5, when he will face racketeering murder and firearms charges.