Lil Durk was found not guilty on all five charges in his federal murder for hire trial, with a Los Angeles jury delivering the verdict on Friday, 11 September 2026, after three days of deliberation.
The rapper, whose legal name is Durk Banks, had faced conspiracy and interstate stalking charges tied to the 2022 killing of Saviay’a Robinson, cousin of rival Atlanta rapper Tyquian “Quando Rondo” Bowman, as reported by Complex. He remains in federal custody.
What the Lil Durk verdict covers
The jury acquitted Banks on every count, including conspiracy to commit murder for hire, using interstate facilities to commit murder for hire resulting in death, conspiracy to commit interstate stalking, interstate stalking involving a dangerous weapon and interstate stalking resulting in death.
His co-defendants received a mixed outcome.
Deandre Wilson and David Lindsay, both linked to Banks’ Only the Family label, were convicted on the stalking and stalking conspiracy charges but acquitted on the remaining counts.
Banks stays behind bars regardless of the acquittal, with a separate federal racketeering trial scheduled for next month.
The case behind the Lil Durk verdict
Prosecutors alleged Banks orchestrated a plot to stalk and kill Bowman as revenge for the 2020 murder of his close friend and fellow OTF artist Dayvon “King Von” Bennett.
The plan allegedly went wrong when the hit team killed Robinson instead, who was seated with Bowman in a vehicle near the Beverly Center in August 2022.
Banks was arrested in Broward County, Florida, on 17 October 2024, alongside five OTF associates. Two of his inner circle reached plea deals and testified for the government during the trial, detailing his alleged involvement, while Banks declined to testify in his own defence and Bowman was not called to the stand.
How the trial played out before the verdict
The trial opened on 20 August 2026 following a lengthy pretrial fight over a third indictment that added racketeering counts to the case. Prosecutors introduced lyrics from several of Banks’ songs, along with an unreleased music video, arguing the material reflected his state of mind at the time of the killing.
The defence countered that rap lyrics and violent imagery constitute artistic expression rather than confession, a position the jury appeared to accept on the charges against Banks specifically. Closing arguments centred on whether Banks directed the hit team or was being unfairly implicated by associates who had already struck deals with prosecutors.
What happens next
Banks faces a second federal trial next month on racketeering and firearms charges stemming from the same broader indictment, meaning Friday’s acquittal does not end his time in custody.
Prosecutors are expected to continue pursuing detention ahead of that trial regardless of the outcome in this case.
