# Lil Durk Acquitted in Murder-for-Hire Case

> A Los Angeles federal jury cleared the rapper of every charge in a 2022 mall shooting that killed a bystander.
- Title: Lil Durk Acquitted in Murder-for-Hire Case · Variety
- Summary: A Los Angeles federal jury cleared the rapper of every charge in a 2022 mall shooting that killed a bystander. Prosecutors built a revenge-killing theory…
- Keywords: lil durk, court, hip-hop, trial, crime, entertainment, culture, Lil, Durk, Acquitted, Murder-for-Hire, Case
- Source: Variety — https://variety.com/2026/music/news/lil-durk-acquitted-murder-for-hire-trial-1236859311
- Author: Jem Aswad
- Published: 2026-09-12T00:48:11+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: lil durk, court, hip-hop, trial, crime, entertainment, culture
## Not guilty on all counts
A Los Angeles federal jury found Lil Durk not guilty of murder-for-hire, conspiracy and stalking resulting in death, according to the Los Angeles Times.
## The man on trial
Lil Durk, whose real name is Durk Banks, is a Grammy-winning rapper. The verdict came down on Friday and closed the case against him.
## The revenge theory
Prosecutors argued Banks sent hit men after rapper Quando Rondo, born Tyquian Bowman, to avenge the death of his friend Dayvon Bennett, known as King Von.
## The wrong person died
The intended target survived. Prosecutors said the gunmen instead killed Bowman's cousin, Saviay'a Robinson, who was riding in the same vehicle.
## Eighteen rounds at a mall
Three gunmen fired 18 rounds into the car at the Beverly Center, a crowded Los Angeles shopping mall, in 2022.
## A story that did not stick
The jury rejected the government's account entirely, leaving Robinson's 2022 killing without a conviction attached to it.
## Key takeaway

Prosecutors built a revenge-killing theory around Lil Durk and could not sell it to a jury, which acquitted him on all counts.