Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk was acquitted on Friday of all charges in a federal murder-for-hire case accusing him of orchestrating the revenge killing of a man shot dead in a daytime ambush in Los Angeles four years ago according.
The Chicago rapper was arrested in 2024 and accused of involvement in a shooting that killed the cousin of rival rapper Quando Rondo.
Defence lawyer Drew Findling said the recording artist, whose real name is Durk Devontay Banks, was “thankful” following the verdict.
Lil Durk has had seven albums in the US Billboard chart’s top five since 2019 and has also collaborated with stars including Drake and J Cole on hit singles.
Supporters cheered outside a Los Angeles courthouse after the verdict, which came following three days of jury deliberations.
The 33-year-old faced five felony counts, including murder for hire resulting in death and conspiracy. If convicted, he could have faced a life sentence.
Although Banks was found not guilty of the charges in the case, he remains in custody and faces a separate trial on 5 October, where he will face racketeering murder and firearms charges.
“While we are disappointed with the jury’s decision regarding Durk Banks, a.k.a. ‘Lil Durk,’ we look forward to presenting our evidence at his second trial”, First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement.
In the three-week trial, two co-defendants were tried alongside Banks. Deandre “OTF Dede” Wilson and David “Browneyez” Lindsey were convicted of stalking and conspiracy to commit stalking, but acquitted of murder-for-hire charges, the BBC’s US partner CBS News reports.
The trial relied on three co-operating witnesses, Kavon “OTF Vonnie” Grant, Keith “Flacka” Jones and Kacey “OTF Jam” Hester, who reached plea deals and testified against Banks, Wilson and Lindsey.
It stemmed from a fatal shooting in August 2022 at a petrol station in Los Angeles, where a car carrying Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Bowman, was shot at. Bowman was unharmed, but his cousin Saviay’a Robinson, who was also in the car, was killed.
Federal prosecutors accused Banks of plotting to kill Bowman, in retaliation for the earlier murder of Chicago OTF rapper King Von, who was signed to OTF. Von was killed in 2020 during an early-morning exchange of gunfire in Atlanta.
A friend of Bowman was charged with King Von’s murder, but the charges were later dropped. Bowman was not arrested or charged.
Authorities said Banks made it known that he would “pay a bounty” to anyone who killed Bowman. Prosecutors argued that Banks felt pressure on social media to avenge Von’s death.
Banks founded OTF in 2010. He won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his single “All My Life” featuring J Cole. He has also been nominated for a Grammy three other times.