Lil Durk has been found not guilty in the murder-for-hire case that threatened to send the Chicago rap star to prison for life… and Trap Lore Ross was dragged by the rapper’s supporters immediatly after.
A federal jury cleared Durk, born Durk Banks, of all charges connected to an alleged 2022 plot to kill Atlanta rapper Tayquian Bowman, better known as Quando Rondo.
Prosecutors claimed Durk wanted revenge after his friend and fellow Chicago rapper King Von was fatally shot in 2020. They alleged associates connected to Only the Family later followed Bowman to West Hollywood and fired on his car. Bowman’s cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, was killed.
The case included testimony from Kacey Hester, who said he was one of the shooters. Hester testified that Durk later questioned him about the attack.
“Did somebody get hit? How many times did you shoot? What did you do?” Hester said Durk asked.
Durk’s defense team challenged that account, arguing Hester had an incentive to cooperate with prosecutors in hopes of receiving a more favorable sentence.
Trap Lore Ross gets mobbed by a crowd while leaving the courtroom following the Lil Durk verdict pic.twitter.com/8Q71f6TYPi
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) September 12, 2026
The defense also argued that Durk’s former assistant Kavon Grant was behind the shooting, a theory prosecutors rejected.
“No one is saying he was the one on the ground with a gun in his hand,” prosecutor Ian Yanniello told jurors while arguing Durk was responsible for setting the events in motion.
The rapper is due back in court October 5 for a separate trial involving racketeering, murder and firearms charges.
After the not-guilty verdict, rapper Trap Lore Ross, who has been covering the trial and taunting Durk fans, was chased outside the court as Durk fans hurled insults and mocked him. The documentary maker, who once made a video accusing King Von of being a serial killer and was recently called out for creating “Bleveland Ave” merch, mocking Atlanta’s infamous Cleveland Ave, for spreading misinformation.
TRAP LORE ROSS GOT COOKED FOR SPREADING MISINFORMATION HARRY POTTER BETTER BE CAREFUL TO NOT GET SUED FOR DEFAMATION https://t.co/MRohDhTLeC pic.twitter.com/mkhoJZY3z0
— ŘÍ (@UDONTKNOWRI) September 12, 2026