The Acquittal: Why Lil Durk Beat Federal Murder-For-Hire Charges [VERDICT SPECIAL]

On Friday evening, September 11, 2026, inside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles, a federal jury delivered an unequivocal verdict in United States v. Banks et al. (No. 2:24-cr-00673-MWF, C.D. Cal., Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald). Thirty-three-year-old hip-hop artist Durk Devontay Banks, known worldwide as Lil Durk, was acquitted on all five federal counts, completely clearing him of allegations that he orchestrated a retaliatory murder-for-hire plot outside the Beverly Center in August 2022.

In a dramatic split verdict, co-defendants Deandre Wilson (OTF DeDe) and David Lindsey (Browneyez) were convicted of stalking offenses but acquitted of the central murder-for-hire and death-resulting charges. Over a three-week trial and three days of deliberations, defense attorneys Drew Findling and Brian Steel systematically dismantled the prosecution's case—demonstrating zero fina

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Reportage from public records and press coverage. Open cases: charged or alleged unless stated as convicted.