A federal jury in Los Angeles on Friday found Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk not guilty on all charges in a murder-for-hire case, prompting an emotional scene in the courtroom as the 33-year-old and members of his defense team broke down in tears.
Durk Devontay Banks, known professionally as Lil Durk, wiped away tears after the second “not guilty” was read. His attorneys Brian Steel, Drew Findling and Christy O’Connor embraced him in a group hug captured in photographs circulating online. Banks’ mother cried in the gallery as his wife, India Royale, wrapped an arm around her.
The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for three days before clearing Banks of five counts, including conspiracy, stalking resulting in death, and using interstate facilities to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death. He had faced a potential life sentence.
Prosecutors alleged Banks ordered and financed a hit on rival Atlanta rapper Tyquian Bowman, known as Quando Rondo, in retaliation for the 2020 shooting death of Banks’ close friend and Only the Family associate Dayvon “King Von” Bennett. On Aug. 19, 2022, gunmen opened fire on a vehicle near a gas station by the Beverly Center shopping mall in Los Angeles. Bowman survived. His cousin, Saviay’a Tilal Robinson, 24, of Savannah, Georgia, was killed.
Co-defendants Deandre Dontrell Wilson, known as OTF Dede, and David Brian Lindsey, known as Browneyez, were acquitted of the murder-for-hire counts but convicted of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking using a dangerous weapon, and stalking resulting in death. Those stalking convictions carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Despite the acquittal, Banks was not released. He remains in federal custody pending a separate trial scheduled for Oct. 5 on racketeering and firearms charges that had been severed from this case. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said prosecutors were disappointed in the verdict regarding Banks but looked forward to presenting evidence in the next trial.
Outside the downtown Los Angeles federal courthouse, crowds of supporters celebrated. Streamer FinesseFav filmed a 44-second clip of himself approaching India Royale as she was escorted to an SUV amid security and media. In the chaotic scene he asked, “India, let me get Durk for 1 night please.” The moment drew online criticism calling the comment awkward or inappropriate.
Defense attorney Drew Findling addressed supporters after the verdict, calling it a historic win and vowing to continue fighting for Banks’ full release so he could return to his family. Banks’ father, Dontay Banks, described the day as a beautiful moment while expressing sympathy to Robinson’s family, noting he had also lost a son.
Banks, born Oct. 19, 1992, in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, rose as a leading figure in drill music and founded the Only the Family collective. He won a Grammy in 2024 for best melodic rap performance for “All My Life.” His high-profile defense team included Steel, the Atlanta attorney who represented Young Thug in the lengthy YSL racketeering trial, and Findling, a veteran of numerous celebrity cases.
India Royale, born India Cox in Chicago in 1995, is a beauty entrepreneur and social media personality who married Banks in 2024. The couple shares a daughter, Willow, and she has another daughter, Skylar, from a previous relationship. She attended much of the trial in support of her husband.
The case drew heavy attention throughout the two-week trial, with celebrities including Machine Gun Kelly and Ye appearing at times and fans packing the area outside the courthouse. Banks has been detained since his 2024 arrest.
