A federal jury cleared the Grammy winning Chicago rapper of every charge in the Los Angeles case, but a separate October trial keeps him in custody.
Lil Durk has been found not guilty on every count in the federal murder for hire trial that put one of hip hop’s biggest stars at the center of a Los Angeles courtroom.
Jurors reached the verdict Friday after three days of deliberations. Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, had been accused of directing and financing an August 2022 attack intended for Atlanta rapper Quando Rondo, whose legal name is Tyquian Bowman. Bowman survived. His cousin, 24 year old Saviay’a Robinson, was killed.
NBC Los Angeles reported that the jury acquitted Banks on all charges. Co defendants Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey were convicted of conspiracy to commit stalking and stalking related counts, while also being cleared of the murder for hire allegations. Read the NBC Los Angeles report
What the Jury Rejected
Federal prosecutors argued that Banks used his money and influence to set a revenge plot in motion after the 2020 death of his friend and fellow Chicago rapper King Von. The government said gunmen fired at least 18 rounds at Bowman’s vehicle near the Beverly Center.
The defense challenged the credibility of cooperating witnesses and argued that a former assistant acted without Banks’s knowledge. Banks did not testify. The jury’s verdict rejected the government’s attempt to hold him criminally responsible in this case.
The Acquittal Does Not Mean Immediate Release
ABC7 and Reuters both reported that Banks remains in federal custody. A separate trial is scheduled for October 5 involving racketeering, murder related and firearms charges. That distinction is essential: Friday’s verdict closes one case in his favor, but it does not resolve the second prosecution. Read the ABC7 report
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said prosecutors were disappointed by the verdict concerning Banks while emphasizing the convictions involving Wilson and Lindsey and the government’s plan to present its evidence in the October trial.
A Career Already Bigger Than the Case
Durk helped carry Chicago drill from a regional movement into the center of commercial rap. His catalog grew from the Signed to the Streets mixtapes to number one albums, major collaborations and the 2024 Grammy winning “All My Life” with J. Cole.
The legal proceedings have interrupted that trajectory since his 2024 arrest. Friday’s acquittal is therefore both a courtroom result and a major cultural moment for an audience that has watched his music, family and freedom become part of the same public story.
OHH Analysis
The right way to read this verdict is with precision. Lil Durk was acquitted completely in this trial. That is not a technicality, and it should not be blurred by the allegations the jury rejected. At the same time, it is inaccurate to describe him as legally free while a separate federal case remains.
Hip hop coverage too often turns a courtroom into entertainment. The verdict deserves clarity, the remaining case deserves restraint, and Saviay’a Robinson’s death should not disappear behind celebrity reaction.
Durk won a full acquittal in one major case while another federal trial still stands between him and release.