The shooting occurred on Aug. 19, 2022, at a gas station at the northeast corner of La Cienega and Beverly boulevards. (photo by Edwin Folven)

A Chicago-area rapper known as Lil Durk was found not guilty on Sept. 11 by a federal jury in Los Angeles of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting a rival rapper.

Prosecutors alleged defendant Durk Banks, 33, hired hitmen who followed the rival rapper, Quando Rondo, as he drove around the Los Angeles area on Aug. 19, 2022. When Rondo, whose legal name is Tyquian Bowman, stopped at a gas station across the street from the Beverly Center, two gunmen fired numerous shots at his vehicle. Bowman was not struck but his cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, was killed.

Authorities alleged the shooting stemmed from a feud between the rappers and the motive was revenge. Banks, who prosecutors said is the leader of a Chicago-based rap crew known as Only the Family, allegedly blamed Bowman for the murder of rapper Dayvon “King Von” Bennett, a close friend of Banks. An associate of Bowman’s allegedly shot and killed Bennett in 2020 in Atlanta.

The federal indictment alleged Banks wanted Bowman killed and paid for one-way flights to Los Angeles for the hitmen, Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey, in August 2022. Authorities also tied him to credit card purchases for hotel rooms for the gunmen. Federal authorities arrested Banks on Oct. 17, 2022, near Miami International Airport after they learned he booked a flight out of the country.

Authorities said Banks was in Los Angeles on the day of the homicide but was not at the scene. Co-defendants Wilson and Lindsey, both of the Chicago-area, were also found not guilty of murder-for-hire. However, the jury found Wilson and Lindsey guilty of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking using a dangerous weapon and stalking resulting in death. They face life in prison.

Banks still faces an upcoming trial in federal court on separate racketeering and murder charges scheduled to begin in October, and he remains in custody. A judge previously granted a request by Banks’ attorneys to hold separate trials for the murder-for-hire charges and racketeering and murder charges. The racketeering charges reflect federal prosecutors’ allegations that Only the Family is involved in criminal activity orchestrated by Banks.

“Today, the jury delivered justice to the family of Saviay’a Robinson, finding defendants Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey guilty of stalking resulting in Mr. Robinson’s death,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said on Sept. 11. “While we are disappointed with the jury’s decision regarding Durk Banks, aka Lil Durk, we look forward to presenting our evidence at his second trial, scheduled for Oct. 5, when he will face racketeering, murder and firearms charges.”

Banks faces life in federal prison if convicted.