Jury Acquits Lil Durk in Murder-for-Hire Case
Jury Acquits Lil Durk in Murder-for-Hire Case
The News
A federal jury in Los Angeles acquitted rapper Lil Durk — legal name Durk Banks — of all charges tied to an alleged murder-for-hire plot against rival rapper Quando Rondo.
Prosecutors said the Chicago rapper paid to have Rondo killed in revenge for the 2020 shooting death of his friend and collaborator Dayvon "King Von" Bennett. The 2022 attack at a Los Angeles gas station missed Rondo and killed his cousin.
Outside court, fans and streamers mobbed defense attorney Brian Steel, chanting "MVP," according to Vice.
Timeline
Chicago rapper Dayvon "King Von" Bennett, a close Lil Durk associate, is shot and killed. Prosecutors would later cast his death as the motive for everything that followed.
A shooting at a Los Angeles gas station targets rapper Quando Rondo, who survives. Rondo's cousin is killed. Federal prosecutors allege Banks financed the attempt.
A federal jury finds Banks not guilty of the attempted killing for hire, clearing him on all charges in the case.
Reactions
Fans and streamers rushed defense lawyer Brian Steel outside the courthouse chanting "MVP," Vice reported, crediting him with the acquittal.
Defense attorney Drew Findling called it "the greatest verdict in this country," per Wire's account of the case.
Prosecutors had argued through trial that Banks was "consumed with revenge" and paid others to carry out the killing. The defense countered that no physical evidence tied him to the shooting, and that his lyrics — which the government leaned on — were artistic expression, not confessions.
What's Next
The acquittal does not end Banks's legal exposure. A separate racketeering and RICO case against him is set for trial on Oct. 5, and he remains in custody until then.
The open question is whether the arguments that won this verdict — thin physical evidence and lyrics as art rather than admission — hold up a second time, and what evidence prosecutors bring after failing to convict here.
More
The Lyrics Fight
Rap lyrics as criminal evidence has become a running battle in American courtrooms, and it sat at the center of this trial. The government used Banks's words as a window into motive; his lawyers told jurors that a verse is not a statement of fact. The jury sided with the defense.
Poll
Should prosecutors be allowed to use rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials?
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