A federal jury acquitted hip-hop star Durk Banks, known professionally as Lil Durk, on all five charges tied to a Los Angeles murder-for-hire case.
The jury returned its verdict after three days of deliberations. Banks, however, has not been released from federal custody following the acquittal.
Prosecutors accused Banks of orchestrating a 2022 shooting targeting rapper Quando Rondo. The attack instead killed Rondo’s cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, near the Beverly Center.
The government alleged that shooters fired 18 rounds at Rondo’s black Escalade. Robinson was struck during the gunfire and later died.
Prosecutors alleged that Banks ordered the attack as retaliation for the 2020 killing of his close associate, Dayvon “King Von” Bennett.
Banks’ defense disputed that theory. His attorneys argued that former assistant Kavon Grant arranged the shooting independently.
The defense contended that Grant sought to impress Banks. Attorneys maintained that Banks neither ordered nor financed the attack.
Jurors found Banks not guilty of conspiracy. They also acquitted him of stalking involving a dangerous weapon and stalking resulting in death.
The jury further returned not-guilty verdicts on two murder-for-hire counts.
The acquittal means the government failed to prove the charged offenses beyond a reasonable doubt. It does not, however, mean Banks has immediately walked free.
Banks remains in federal custody despite the verdict, according to the case information provided.
The prosecution’s case centered on an alleged revenge motive connected to King Von’s killing. Prosecutors sought to establish that Banks directed an effort against Rondo.
The defense instead placed Grant at the center of the alleged plot. That competing account became a critical issue before the jury.
The case attracted significant attention because of Banks’ prominence in hip-hop and the allegations involving King Von and Rondo.
Banks’ acquittal resolves the federal criminal charges arising from the Los Angeles shooting. His continued detention means the verdict has not yet translated into his release from custody.
The precise basis for his continued detention was not provided in the supplied case information.
For Banks, the verdict eliminates the immediate risk of conviction on the five federal charges. His legal status, however, remains subject to the court’s custody proceedings.
