Rapper Lil Durk. Photo Credit: Facebook
A Los Angeles jury clears the hip-hop star in a 2022 shooting, though he remains jailed for an upcoming trial.
By Carlos Reyes
Federal jurors handed down a full acquittal to rap star Lil Durk on Friday, rejecting government claims that he ordered a fatal 2022 hit near the Beverly Center.
The decision caps a high-profile trial in Los Angeles, where the 33-year-old Grammy winner, legally named Durk Banks, faced federal conspiracy, stalking, and murder-for-hire charges. Deliberations lasted three days before the panel cleared him on every count.
Lil Durk’s co-counsel Drew Findling after the verdict. Photo Credit: YouTube.
Prosecutors argued that Banks bankrolled and directed a targeted ambush against rival Atlanta performer Tyquian Bowman, also known as Quando Rondo, to avenge the 2020 killing of his friend Dayvon “King Von” Bennett. That Aug. 19, 2022, shooting ultimately missed Bowman and killed his 24-year-old cousin, Saviay’a Robinson.
Defense counsel rejected that narrative, presenting evidence that Banks’ former personal assistant, Kavon Grant, organized the attack without the musician’s knowledge.
While the jury convicted co-defendants Deandre Dontrell Wilson and David Brian Lindsey on reduced charges of stalking and conspiracy, they exonerated Banks across the board.
The verdict avoids a potential life sentence, though Banks will remain behind bars as he prepares for a separate federal trial next month involving racketeering, murder, and weapons allegations.