Federal jury acquits rapper Lil Durk of all murder-for-hire charges in Los Angeles

Federal jury verdict in Los Angeles

A federal jury in Los Angeles acquitted rap artist Lil Durk on September 11 of all five charges in a murder-for-hire case. The 33-year-old artist, whose legal name is Durk Banks, was cleared of murder-for-hire conspiracy, stalking using a dangerous weapon, and stalking resulting in death following three days of jury deliberations. Two co-defendants tried alongside him, Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey, were acquitted of murder for hire but convicted on conspiracy and stalking counts. The verdict concluded a two-week trial in downtown Los Angeles that drew crowds of fans and public appearances from musicians Ye and Machine Gun Kelly.

Defense counsel for Wilson welcomed the jury's decision regarding the primary charge while signaling further legal challenges to the remaining convictions.

We thank the jury for seeing there was no murder for hire. We are confident the remaining counts will not survive our pending motion for acquittal.

The 2022 ambush and prosecution case

Federal prosecutors alleged that Banks orchestrated an August 19, 2022 shooting near the Beverly Center shopping mall targeting rival rapper Tyquian Bowman, known as Quando Rondo. Bowman survived unhurt, but his 24-year-old cousin, Saviay'a Robinson, was fatally shot in the vehicle. Prosecutors argued that Banks sought retaliation for the November 2020 killing of his friend and Only the Family collective member Dayvon Bennett, known as King Von, at an Atlanta nightclub. The government claimed Banks funded flights, rental cars, and equipment for a hit squad and offered a bounty for Bowman's death.

The prosecution built its argument around cooperating witnesses, including former associates Kavon Grant, Keith Jones, and shooter Kacey Hester, who testified that cash rewards were promised.

No one is saying that he was on the ground with a gun in his hand in Los Angeles, but this story doesn't happen without him, and it doesn't make sense without his leadership.

Defense strategy and musical evidence

Banks's defense team, including attorneys Brian Steel and Drew Findling, maintained that Banks had no knowledge of or involvement in the August 2022 shooting. The defense argued that Grant, Banks's former personal assistant who possessed access to his credit cards, organized the shooting independently to elevate his standing. Defense lawyers told jurors that the cooperating witnesses fabricated claims about Banks offering a bounty of up to $1 million to reduce their own potential prison sentences. During the trial, Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald permitted prosecutors to introduce lyrics from Banks's songs, including "Ahhh Ha" and "Pissed Me Off," as evidence of his mental state regarding Bennett's death.

Second trial scheduled for October

Despite being acquitted of all charges in the murder-for-hire indictment, Banks remains in federal custody. The musician, who was arrested in October 2024 at a Florida airport, faces a separate federal trial on October 5 on racketeering and firearms offenses that were severed from the first proceeding. Wilson and Lindsey also face charges in that upcoming trial.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli confirmed that the government plans to proceed directly to the second trial with its remaining evidence.

While we are disappointed with the jury's decision regarding Durk Banks, AKA Lil Durk, we look forward to presenting our evidence at his second trial, scheduled for 5 October, when he will face racketeering murder and firearms charges.