LOS ANGELES — A federal jury acquitted Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk in a murder-for-hire trial that has drawn celebrities, fans and content creators to a downtown Los Angeles courthouse.

The Chicago rapper, whose given name is Durk Banks, was found not guilty of conspiracy, stalking resulting in death and murder for hire. Prosecutors alleged that Banks dispatched hit men to target rapper Quando Rondo, born Tyquian Bowman, for revenge after the death of a close friend.

Instead of killing Bowman, prosecutors said, the hit men fatally shot Bowman’s cousin Saviay’a Robinson, 24, in a botched ambush near the bustling Beverly Center on a summer day in 2022.

Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey, who prosecutors alleged was one of the shooters, were on trial alongside Banks. The two men were convicted on the charges of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking using a dangerous weapon and stalking resulting in death, but were acquitted on the murder-for-hire charges.

Banks, who was in a tan suit and brown tie, appeared nervous ahead of the verdict being read, swaying back and forth and at times swiveling in his chair. As the verdict was read on each of the counts, Banks kept his head down. When the clerk read “not guilty,” Banks began wiping away tears.

Despite the verdict, Banks was not released from custody. He is facing a second trial on a racketeering charge that is set for Oct. 5.

More than 60 people had packed into the courtroom. Several more who had been lined up outside were not allowed in. U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald warned the gallery to “maintain decorum,” stating that the verdicts would be a “moment of either joy or grief.”

“Restrain yourselves as the verdicts are read,” he said. The packed gallery mostly maintained decorum, letting out a clap when a “not guilty” was read for Banks.

Banks had pleaded not guilty to five separate charges for which he was acquitted: conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking using a dangerous weapon, stalking resulting in death, the conspiracy to use interstate commerce facilities to commit murder-for hire resulting in death, and the use of interstate commerce facilities to commit murder-for hire resulting in death.

Throughout two weeks of testimony, prosecutors made the case that Banks was “consumed with revenge” after the fatal shooting of his close friend, Dayvon Bennett, a rising rapper known as King Von. In order to exact that revenge, prosecutors said three shooters unloaded 18 rounds at the black Cadillac Escalade in which Bowman rode with his cousin, Robinson.

“(Banks) had his shooters on speed dial,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yanniello said in closing arguments Tuesday. “No one is saying he was the one on the ground with a gun in his hand in Los Angeles, but you know this story doesn’t happen without him, and it doesn’t make sense without his leadership.”

Banks, Yanniello said, “used his money, his power, and his influence to try to kill his biggest opp.”

Much of the trial testimony came from three cooperating witnesses: Two of the admitted shooters, Kacey Hester — AKA OTF Jam — and Keith Jones, as well as Banks’ former personal assistant Kavon Grant.

In his closing argument, defense attorney Brian Steel painted Hester, Jones and Grant as unreliable “snitches, cooperators, rats” seeking to secure a lighter sentence by implicating Banks. Steel accused federal agents of having “targeted Durk” and told jurors Grant had “all access to Durk’s resources” and was the one who secured the guns and cars for the L.A. killing.

Drew Findling, also on Banks’ defense team, accused Grant of being a “master of deception” who was determined to get revenge for the death of Bennett, his cousin.

“(Grant) has manipulated the people in this case, he has manipulated the FBI, the LAPD, and respectfully, has been manipulating the members of the U.S. attorney’s office,” Findling told jurors in his closing argument. “Well, folks, it is time for you to say ... ‘He will not manipulate us.’”

In a final rebuttal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Morse said Banks had long pressured members of his Only The Family hip-hop collective to get revenge for Bennett’s death by murdering Bowman.

“And now he’s in court blaming his team,” Morse said. “You can’t blame Amazon for delivering a package that you ordered.”

The shooting that ignited the feud took place two years earlier and 2,000 miles away. Bennett had gotten into a fistfight with Bowman outside an Atlanta hookah lounge and was fatally shot by someone in Bowman’s entourage.

Throughout the trial, swarms of fans and tourists descended on the courthouse, waiting hours to try to secure a seat inside the courtroom. Among the supporters who have turned out are Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, and rapper MGK, best known as Machine Gun Kelly.

Dozens gathered outside the courthouse, wearing “Free Durk” shirts and blasting the rapper’s music on a speaker.

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