Three days, roughly eight hours of actual deliberation, and a jury of seven women and five men walked back into Judge Michael Fitzgerald's courtroom in downtown Los Angeles at 5 p.m. Pacific on Friday, September 11, and said not guilty five times. Lil Durk put his head down and cried. India Royale reached across the row and held his mother. Courtroom reporter Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) had the verdict out first; XXL, Complex, Rolling Stone and Billboard confirmed it within the hour. This is the piece we said we'd write when the verdict watch ended. It ended with the biggest federal acquittal in rap since Young Thug walked out of Fulton County.
## What the jury decided Durk Banks, 33, faced five counts: conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking Quando Rondo with a dangerous weapon, stalking resulting in the death of Saviay'a "Lul Pab" Robinson, conspiracy to use interstate facilities in a murder-for-hire resulting in death, and the murder-for-hire count itself. The last two carried mandatory life. He was acquitted on every one.
His co-defendants did not get the same verdict. Deandre "OTF DeDe" Wilson and David "Browneyez" Lindsey were found guilty of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking with a dangerous weapon and stalking resulting in death, and acquitted on the two murder-for-hire counts. The split is the tell. The jury believed a stalking plot against Rondo happened and that these two men were in it. They did not believe the government proved Durk ordered it or paid for it.
## How the case fell apart The government's theory was revenge: Durk blamed Rondo for King Von's November 2020 killing in Atlanta and, per prosecutors in closing, "had his shooters on speed dial." The August 19, 2022 shooting near the Beverly Center was meant for Rondo and killed his cousin instead. To prove Durk was the hand behind it, the feds leaned on three cooperators from inside OTF: Kacey "OTF Jam" Hester, who admitted he was one of the shooters; Kavon "OTF Vonnie" Grant, Durk's personal assistant, who pleaded guilty to murder and flipped; and Keith "Flacka" Jones. They also played the "Pissed Me Off" video and put an alleged "opp list" in front of the jury.
Brian Steel and Marissa Goldberg's defense did what Steel did for Thug: they made the trial about the witnesses. Every cooperator was facing life and every one of them got a deal for saying Durk's name. Goldberg pointed the plot squarely at Vonnie, the assistant with access to Durk's cards and travel. Steel called the government's case a "tsunami of reasonable doubt" and told the jury Durk was "not a prize in a carnival" to be won by witnesses working off their own time. Jurors asked on day one for the evidence in digital form and on day two for the legal definition of "intent." Both notes now read like a room trying to separate what OTF did from what Durk did. They found the line.
## Why he is not going home tonight Durk did not leave the building. He was taken back into custody because the racketeering case is still live. In June, two months before this trial, prosecutors filed a third superseding indictment charging Durk and his co-defendants under VICAR, alleging OTF was run as a "Banks Gang Enterprise" that paid money and studio time for violence. Steel got those counts severed in July, which is the only reason today's jury never heard the words "criminal enterprise." That second trial has no date yet.
Complex's Shawn Setaro laid this out before the verdict: the feds were always going to argue detention regardless of outcome, on flight risk (three Dubai flights booked the day of his 2024 arrest) and witness intimidation. The acquittal changes the math. The racketeering case recycles a lot of the same conduct and some of the same cooperators the jury just declined to believe, and attorneys quoted by Complex said a not-guilty verdict gives Steel a real shot at home confinement or electronic monitoring. Expect that motion fast. Expect the government to fight it and, if they lose, appeal it, the way they did with Karl Jordan Jr. in the Jam Master Jay case. "Free Durk" is a bond hearing away, not a done deal.
## The culture's response Ye, who sat in the gallery during the trial, was among the first to post the news. Boosie wrote "WHEN U DONT RAT U COME BACK." G Herbo, who came to court in person, posted his reaction to his story. Young Thug, whose own RICO ended with Steel walking him out on a plea, posted "thank me later." The reactions are collected at Complex. MGK, Dreezy, Doodie Lo and Durk's father were in the room across the two-plus weeks.
## What this means Two things are true at once. The federal government spent two years, a 230-gigabyte discovery dump and three flipped OTF members trying to convict one of the biggest artists in the genre of a murder, and a Los Angeles jury said no in under eight hours. That is a real loss for a playbook that has been undefeated against rappers since the Thug case cracked. And a 24-year-old named Saviay'a Robinson is still dead, two OTF members are now convicted of the stalking that killed him, and the man at the top of the label is heading back to a cell to wait for a second indictment built on the same story. Durk beat the case. He has not beaten the system that brought it. Deep Thoughts opened at No. 3 with him behind bars; whatever he records next will be the first Durk music in two years that the government did not get to enter as evidence.
## Sources - XXL, September 11, 2026 - Lil Durk Found Not Guilty on All Charges in Murder-for-Hire Trial: https://www.xxlmag.com/lil-durk-not-guilty-murder-for-hire-trial/ - Complex, September 11, 2026 - Lil Durk's Murder-for-Hire Trial: Rapper Found Not Guilty on All Counts: https://www.complex.com/music/a/tracewilliamcowen/lil-durk-murder-hire-trial-verdict - Rolling Stone, September 11, 2026 - Lil Durk Acquitted of All Charges at Trial Over Shooting That Killed Quando Rondo's Cousin: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lil-durk-verdict-quando-rondo-conspiracy-trial-akademiks-1235622493/ - Billboard, September 11, 2026 - Lil Durk Acquitted of All Charges in Murder-for-Hire Trial Over Quando Rondo Attack: https://www.billboard.com/pro/lil-durk-acquitted-murder-for-hire-trial-quando-rondo/ - Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) on X, September 11, 2026 - verdict thread: https://x.com/meghanncuniff/status/2098566297483383085 - Complex, September 11, 2026 - Kanye West and More React to Lil Durk's Not Guilty Verdict: https://www.complex.com/music/a/jadegomez510/celebrities-react-lil-durk-verdict - Complex, September 8, 2026 - Lil Durk Trial Verdict: Why He Might Stay in Jail Even If He's Found Not Guilty: https://www.complex.com/music/a/shawn-setaro/lil-durk-acquitted-feds-will-try-keep-him-in-jail - Complex, July 14, 2026 - Lil Durk Wins Motion to Have Racketeering Charges Excluded From Upcoming Trial: https://www.complex.com/music/a/shawn-setaro/lil-durk-wins-motion-have-racketeering-charges-excluded-trial - Rolling Stone, September 2026 - Lil Durk Closings: Prosecutors Hammer 'Revenge,' Defense Cites 'Tsunami of Reasonable Doubt': https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lil-durk-murder-for-hire-quando-rondo-king-von-closings-1235622843/