Rapper to face second federal trial on racketeering charges in October
A federal jury in Los Angeles found Lil Durk not guilty on Friday of all charges in a federal murder-for-hire prosecution accusing him of orchestrating the 2022 revenge killing behind a shooting at a Los Angeles petrol station. Supporters cheered outside the courthouse after the verdict.
Banks, 33, was found not guilty on five felony counts, including murder for hire resulting in death and conspiracy. A conviction on any one of the counts could have carried a life sentence.
Defense lawyer Drew Findling said Banks was “thankful” following the verdict.
The case centered on the August 2022 attack that prosecutors said Banks plotted against Tyquian Bowman, the rapper who performs as Quando Rondo. A car carrying Bowman was sprayed with gunfire at the Los Angeles petrol station; Bowman was unharmed, but his cousin Saviay’a Robinson was killed.
Federal prosecutors said the plot was retaliation for the 2020 killing of Chicago rapper King Von, a member of Banks’s OTF collective, in 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.
According to authorities, Banks made it known that he would “pay a bounty” to anyone who killed Bowman.
The three-week trial relied on testimony from three cooperating witnesses — Kavon “OTF Vonnie” Grant, Keith “Flacka” Jones and Kacey “OTF Jam” Hester — who reached plea deals and testified under cooperation agreements. Two co-defendants, Deandre “OTF Dede” Wilson and David “Browneyez” Lindsey, were tried alongside Banks. Both were convicted of stalking and conspiracy to commit stalking, but acquitted of murder-for-hire charges, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
The acquittal does not free Banks. He remains in federal custody and faces a separate trial scheduled for October 5 on racketeering murder and firearms charges.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement: “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.”
Banks founded OTF in 2010. He has placed seven albums in the U.S. Billboard chart’s top five since 2019 and won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his single “All My Life” featuring J Cole. He has also collaborated with stars including Drake on hit singles.