Lil Durk has been found not guilty on all counts in his federal trial after three days of jury deliberations, bringing a major prosecution tied to a 2022 Los Angeles shooting to an end. The rapper faced charges including conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking resulting in death and murder-for-hire involving interstate commerce facilities.
The verdict was delivered September 11 following a trial in Los Angeles before U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald. Jurors began deliberating after closing arguments on September 8 and at one point asked the court to clarify the legal meaning of “intent” before returning not-guilty verdicts on all five counts.
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The case centered on an August 19, 2022, shooting at a Los Angeles gas station near the Beverly Center. Prosecutors alleged that a group of OTF associates had tracked a vehicle carrying Quando Rondo and opened fire, killing his cousin, Saviay’a Robinson. Rondo survived the attack.
Federal prosecutors connected the shooting to the November 2020 killing of King Von, Durk’s close friend and fellow Only The Family artist. According to the government’s case, Durk blamed Rondo for the circumstances surrounding Von’s death and later helped arrange a retaliation effort by providing money, travel arrangements and vehicles while communicating with those involved.
Lil Durk, born Durk Banks, was arrested in October 2024 near Miami International Airport after booking international flights. Five other men connected to the alleged plot were also charged. Several of the defendants later pleaded guilty and testified for the government, giving prosecutors evidence they used to argue that Durk had directed the attack.
The rapper’s defense team, including attorney Brian Steel, challenged those witnesses throughout the proceedings. Lawyers argued that the cooperating defendants had strong incentives to implicate Durk because they were seeking reduced sentences, while maintaining that another associate had organized the plan.
The trial also featured social-media material, rap lyrics and music videos as prosecutors attempted to establish the rapper’s connection to the alleged scheme. The defense disputed the interpretation of that material and continued to attack the credibility of the government’s cooperating witnesses.
Jurors ultimately rejected the government’s case on every count. The verdict covered conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking with a dangerous weapon, stalking resulting in death, conspiracy to use interstate facilities in a murder-for-hire resulting in death, and the substantive murder-for-hire charge.
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