A federal jury on Friday found rapper Lil Durk not guilty of the attempted killing for hire of rival rapper Quando Rondo at a Los Angeles gas station, a shooting that resulted in the death of Rondo’s cousin.
The jury deliberated for three days before acquitting Lil Durk, the 33-year-old Grammy-winning Chicago hip-hop artist best known for the 2023 hit “All My Life,” of conspiracy, stalking resulting in death and murder for hire. Durk supporters including music stars Machine Gun Kelly and Ye — the artist formerly known as Kanye West — appeared in the audience during the two-week trial in downtown Los Angeles. Big groups of fans, livestreamers and other content creators gathered outside the courthouse.
Durk’s co-defendants Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey were convicted of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking using a dangerous weapon and stalking resulting in death. But both were also acquitted of murder for hire. Attorneys for Durk and Lindsey did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, remained in custody, pending a forthcoming trial on a racketeering count that was severed from this trial.
Prosecutors had alleged that Durk paid to have Rondo killed after someone from Rondo’s entourage fatally shot rapper King Von, a close friend of Durk’s and a member of his Only The Family hip-hop collective, at an Atlanta nightclub in 2020.
The prosecution alleged that in August 2022, a group of men flew to Los Angeles with funds provided by Durk, followed Rondo and his crew around, and three gunmen fired on his Escalade near the Beverly Center shopping mall in Los Angeles. Rondo survived, but his 24-year-old cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, known as Lul Pab, was killed.
Durk won a Grammy earlier that year for Best Melodic Rap Performance for “All My Life,” which features J. Cole. He has been nominated for three other Grammys and was a featured performer on Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later.”