Grammy‑winning rapper Lil Durk was acquitted of all federal murder‑for‑hire charges on Friday. The Chicago‑based artist faced five felony counts tied to a 2022 shooting that killed a man's cousin during a daytime ambush in Los Angeles.
During a three‑day jury deliberation, the court found Durk—real name Durk Devontay Banks—not guilty of murder‑for‑hire and conspiracy. Prosecutors had argued he had "paid a bounty" to anyone who killed the target, Tyquian Bowman, in retaliation for the earlier death of fellow rapper King Von.
The acquittal spurred cheers outside the courthouse, but Banks remains in custody. He will now face a separate trial in early October on racketeering, murder and firearms charges, while evidence from the first case will be re‑presented.
In the original trial, two co‑defendants, Deandre "OTF Dede" Wilson and David "Browneyez" Lindsey, were convicted of stalking and conspiracy to commit stalking but were also cleared of murder‑for‑hire. The court relied heavily on testimony from cooperating witnesses who had taken plea deals.
At the heart of the case lies a violent feud that began after the 2020 death of rapper King Von. Banks’s OTF project was founded in 2010, and he has risen as one of Chicago’s most successful hip‑hop artists, winning the 2024 Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
