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LOS ANGELES () — A jury found rapper Lil Durk not guilty on Friday of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the death of a man near the Beverly Center four years ago.
After three days of deliberations, the Los Angeles jury acquitted the Grammy-winning rapper on all federal charges in the 2022 ambush shooting.
During the trial, prosecutors told jurors that Lil Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, set in motion a plan to stalk, hunt and kill Tyquian Bowman, a rival Atlanta rapper known as Quando Rondo.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Banks planned, ordered and bankrolled the intended murder of Bowman as revenge after one of his associates killed a close friend of Banks’, Dayvon “King Von” Bennett, in 2020.
According to prosecutors, the alleged plot mistakenly resulted in the death of Bowman’s cousin, 24-year-old Saviay’a Robinson, who was shot in broad daylight on Aug. 19, 2022.
Banks, 33, pleaded not guilty through his defense team, which argued during opening statements that he had no involvement in the alleged scheme. His attorneys argued that his former personal assistant, Kavon Grant, was actually the one who set up the intended killing.
Three defendants total, including Banks, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, stalking using a dangerous weapon, stalking resulting in death, and two counts involving murder-for-hire allegations.
Banks’ co-defendants — Deandre Dontrell Wilson and David Brian Lindsey — were convicted of stalking and conspiracy to commit stalking charges — but acquitted of other counts. Banks was found not guilty on all charges.
For now, Banks remains in custody ahead of a second trial for several federal counts of racketeering murder and firearms charges next month.
If convicted on all counts, Banks faced a life sentence in federal prison.
Banks won a Grammy in 2024 for his hit song “All My Life,” which features J. Cole.
A crowd of jubilant Lil Durk fans celebrated outside of the downtown Los Angeles courtroom after the verdict was read on Friday evening.
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