Lil Durk Acquitted of All Charges in Murder-for-Hire Trial Over Quando Rondo Attack

Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk was declared innocent on Friday of all charges in a federal murder-for-hire trial, according to a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. The trial concluded following a four-year-old shooting in Los Angeles, where Durk, whose real name is Durk Banks, was accused of orchestrating the murder of rapper Quando Rondo.

Two co-defendants, Deandre Dontrell Wilson and David Brian Lindsey, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking with a dangerous weapon, and stalking resulting in death. However, both Durk and the co-defendants were acquitted of murder-for-hire-related charges.

The incident, which occurred in August 2022, involved a fatal shooting at a gasoline station near the Beverly Center shopping mall in Los Angeles. Prosecutors alleged that Banks placed a bounty on the head of Rondo as revenge for the 2020 killing of a close friend, Dayvon "King Von" Bennett, by one of Rondo's associates in Atlanta.

Banks, 33, who won the 2024 Grammy for best melodic rap performance, was arrested in October 2024 at a Florida airport, along with other suspects, including the co-defendants. His defense team maintained his innocence, claiming the plot was orchestrated by a former personal assistant who then testified against them.