Rapper Lil Durk has been acquitted of all charges in a Los Angeles federal trial over an alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting fellow rapper Quando Rondo.
Durk, whose real name is Durk Devontay Banks, had faced charges including murder, stalking and conspiracy. A jury returned its verdict on Friday.
Prosecutors alleged that Durk targeted Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Bowman, in retaliation for the killing of Chicago rapper King Von.
Rondo was the intended target of a 2022 shooting near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. He was not hit, but his cousin, 24-year-old Saviay’a Robinson, was killed.
Authorities alleged that Durk had made it known he would “pay a bounty” to anyone who killed Rondo. The case also involved five people associated with his Chicago-based rap collective, Only the Family, known as OTF.
Two co-defendants tried alongside Durk, Deandre “OTF Dede” Wilson and David “Browneyez” Lindsey, were convicted of stalking and stalking conspiracy. They were acquitted of the murder-for-hire charge.
Keith “Flacka” Jones, who pleaded guilty to Robinson’s murder, gave evidence against Durk, Wilson and Lindsey. Kavon “OTF Vonnie” Grant also pleaded guilty in the case and testified against the three men.
Durk won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his song All My Life, featuring J Cole, and has received three other Grammy nominations.
Despite being cleared in the murder-for-hire case, Durk will remain in custody over separate racketeering charges. Those charges allege that he ran OTF as a violent gang, and no trial date has yet been set.
