A federal jury in Los Angeles acquitted Chicago rapper Lil Durk, born Durk Devontay Banks, of all charges in a murder-for-hire trial on Friday, September 11, 2026. Banks had faced multiple felony counts, including conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, stalking, and firearms charges related to a 2022 shooting. While Banks was found not guilty, two co-defendants tried alongside him, Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey, were convicted of stalking and stalking conspiracy but acquitted of the murder-for-hire charges.
The case originated from an August 19, 2022, shooting near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles that killed 24-year-old Saviay'a Robinson. Federal prosecutors alleged that the shooting was intended for Robinson's cousin, Atlanta rapper Quando Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Bowman. Investigators claimed the plot was retaliation for the November 2020 killing of King Von, an associate of Banks' Chicago-based collective, "Only the Family" (OTF). Bowman had been involved in a physical altercation with King Von just before the 2020 shooting in Atlanta.
During the trial, which began on August 20, 2026, prosecutors presented evidence alleging that Banks offered a monetary bounty for the murder of Bowman and used OTF funds to finance the travel of five associates from Chicago to California. Two associates, Keith Jones and Kavon Grant, previously pleaded guilty and testified against Banks, Wilson, and Lindsey. The defense argued that the government's evidence was insufficient. The trial involved the prosecution's use of rap lyrics and music video clips as evidence of intent.
The scale of the investigation involved a significant volume of evidence, with discovery materials exceeding 230 gigabytes of digital data and 20,000 pages of documents. The case also touched upon allegations concerning the OTF collective, which federal authorities characterized in indictments as a criminal enterprise. While Banks has been cleared of these specific murder-for-hire charges, the trial’s outcome leaves the legal standing of the collective and its other members under public and legal scrutiny.
What happens next: While the jury has delivered its verdict for Banks, Wilson, and Lindsey, the legal proceedings for other associates continue. Sentencing dates for Wilson and Lindsey, who were convicted on stalking charges, were not immediately reported. The separate trial for the severed racketeering charges under the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Activity (VICAR) statute remains part of the broader legal schedule. Banks, who won a Grammy in 2024 for "All My Life," is no longer facing the immediate threat of a life sentence following the Friday verdict.