A federal jury in Los Angeles has found Grammy-winning Chicago rapper Lil Durk not guilty in a murder-for-hire case involving an alleged plot against a rival rapper.
Durk, born Durk Devontay Banks, had been charged with several felonies, including murder, stalking and conspiracy counts.
The case also named five other men tied to Lil Durk’s Chicago-based rap collective, “Only the Family,” widely known as “OTF.”
On Friday, jurors acquitted Durk of every charge. Two co-defendants tried with him, Deandre “OTF Dede” Wilson and David “Browneyez” Lindsey, were found guilty of stalking and stalking conspiracy, but were cleared of murder-for-hire allegations.
Raquel Zaldívar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Federal prosecutors had alleged that Durk was involved in a plan to kill Atlanta rapper Quando Rondo, whose legal name is Tyquian Bowman.
Rondo was described as the intended target of a 2022 shooting near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. He was not struck, but his cousin, 24-year-old Saviay’a Robinson, was killed by the gunfire.
Investigators said the alleged plot against Quando Rondo stemmed from retaliation for the earlier killing of Chicago OTF rapper King Von, who died during an early morning exchange of gunfire outside the Monaco Hookah Lounge in Atlanta, according to authorities.
Prosecutors said Durk had made clear he would “pay a bounty” to anyone who killed Rondo.
Keith “Flacka” Jones, one of the men charged in the case, pleaded guilty to Robinson’s murder and testified against Durk, Wilson and Lindsey during the trial. Kavon “OTF Vonnie” Grant also pleaded guilty and testified against Banks, Wilson and Lindsey.
Durk won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for “All My Life,” his single featuring J. Cole. He has received three additional Grammy nominations.
Had he been convicted in the murder-for-hire case, Durk could have faced a life sentence.
Although Durk has been acquitted of the murder-for-hire charges, he will remain in custody on separate racketeering allegations that accuse him of operating OTF as a violent gang. No trial date has been set in that case.
