Entertainment
US rapper Lil Durk acquitted in murder-for-hire trial
Grammy-winning rapper Durk Devontay Banks, popularly known as Lil Durk, has been acquitted of all charges in a federal murder-for-hire case over a 2022 shooting in Los Angeles that left the cousin of rival rapper Quando Rondo dead.
A Los Angeles jury found the rapper not guilty of all five federal felony counts after three days of deliberations.
Lil Durk was accused of orchestrating a revenge plot targeting Tyquian Bowman, an Atlanta rapper known professionally as Quando Rondo, following the 2020 killing of Banks’ close friend, Dayvon “King Von” Bennett.
Federal prosecutors alleged that he planned, ordered and financed the operation to kill Bowman.
However, the alleged plot resulted in the death of Bowman’s cousin, 24-year-old Saviay’a Robinson, who was shot during a daytime ambush on August 19, 2022, in Los Angeles.
Durk’s defence team maintained that he had no involvement in the alleged scheme. His lawyers argued that his former personal assistant, Kavon Grant, was responsible for setting up the intended killing.
He was arrested in 2024 and pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy, stalking using a dangerous weapon, stalking resulting in death and two murder-for-hire-related counts.
His co-defendants, Deandre Dontrell Wilson and David Brian Lindsey, were convicted of stalking and conspiracy to commit stalking but were acquitted of the other charges.
Following the verdict, supporters cheered outside the Los Angeles courthouse.
Defence lawyer Drew Findling said Banks was “thankful” following the acquittal.
The 33-year-old rapper has had seven albums reach the top five of the US Billboard chart since 2019 and has collaborated with artists including Drake and J. Cole on hit singles.
Despite Friday’s acquittal, Banks remains in custody pending a separate federal trial scheduled for next month over racketeering, murder and firearms charges.
If convicted on all the charges in the second case, he could face life imprisonment.
