Chicago rapper Lil Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, has been acquitted of all charges connected to a murder-for-hire conspiracy tied to a fatal 2022 shooting.
Federal prosecutors accused Banks of placing a bounty on Atlanta rapper Tayquian Bowman in retaliation for the 2020 killing of Banks’s friend and fellow Chicago rapper King Von.
Prosecutors alleged that associates linked to Only the Family, Banks’s record label and alleged criminal enterprise, followed Bowman to a West Hollywood gas station in 2022 and opened fire on his vehicle. Bowman’s cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, was fatally wounded in the attack.
Kacey Hester, who identified himself as one of the shooters, testified that Banks later asked about the ambush: “Did somebody get hit? How many times did you shoot? What did you do?”
Banks’s defense attorneys challenged Hester’s credibility, arguing that his account was shaped by his hope of receiving a reduced sentence.
The defense also argued that Kavon Grant, Banks’s former assistant, should be considered the driving force behind the shooting. Grant’s cousin had died following an altercation involving Bowman’s entourage.
Prosecutors rejected that characterization. Assistant US Attorney Ian Yanniello argued that Banks’s leadership was central to the conspiracy, even if he was not physically present during the shooting.
Friday’s federal jury verdict concluded a closely watched trial that attracted supporters, celebrities and fans to the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.
Banks still faces another federal trial on racketeering-related charges.
“While we are disappointed with the jury’s decision regarding Durk Banks, AKA Lil Durk, we look forward to presenting our evidence at his second trial, scheduled for 5 October, when he will face racketeering murder and firearms charges,” First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said.
