Lil Durk Attorney Brian Steel Credits Preparation For Trial Victory
Written by b87fm on 09/16/2026
Brian Steel celebrates Lil Durk’s complete acquittal while a separate racketeering and firearms trial remains ahead.
Brian Steel celebrated Lil Durk’s complete acquittal with a message about trust, preparation and protecting the rights of the accused.
The defense attorney posted the statement on September 15, four days after jurors cleared Durk Devontay Banks of all five federal charges.
Steel wrote, “Another chapter closed.”
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to stand in the courtroom and fight for my client, Lil Durk. The job is simple: protect the rights of the accused, challenge the evidence, and make sure justice is served.”
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Steel also thanked the people who supported the Chicago rapper throughout the closely watched federal trial.
“To my client, his family, and everyone who stood behind us — thank you for the trust,” he wrote.
Steel ended the message with three words: “Preparation. Persistence. Justice.”
The statement followed a sweeping courtroom victory for Lil Durk, who was the only defendant acquitted of every charge.
After three days of deliberations, jurors rejected charges of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking with a dangerous weapon and stalking resulting in death. They also found Lil Durk not guilty of two murder-for-hire charges.
His co-defendants received a split verdict.
Deandre “DeDe” Wilson and David “Browneyez” Lindsey were convicted of the three stalking-related charges but acquitted of both murder-for-hire counts.
The case centered on the August 19, 2022, ambush near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. Tyquian “Quando Rondo” Bowman survived, but his 24-year-old cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson, was killed.
Prosecutors alleged Lil Durk financed the attack as revenge for Dayvon “King Von” Bennett’s November 2020 death.
The government relied on surveillance footage, cellular data, travel records, lyrics and testimony from three OTF associates who accepted plea agreements.
OTF Vonni, OTF Jam and Flacka connected Lil Durk to different parts of the alleged plot.
Steel and the other defense lawyers argued the records did not prove Lil Durk authorized the shooting or offered money for Quando Rondo’s murder.
Steel focused heavily on OTF Jam, who initially denied discussing Quando Rondo with Lil Durk before later connecting him to an alleged reward.
The acquittal closed the Los Angeles murder-for-hire case against Lil Durk, but it did not secure his release.
Lil Durk remains in federal custody ahead of a separate trial scheduled for October 5. DeDe and Browneyez face the same remaining charges.
That case includes murder-related racketeering and firearms allegations involving Stephon Mack’s January 2022 killing outside the Youth Peace Center in Chicago.
Prosecutors claim OTF operated as a criminal enterprise and Lil Durk offered a reward for Mack’s death after his brother Dontay “DThang” Banks was killed.
Steel’s “chapter closed” message therefore celebrates a complete acquittal while another major federal courtroom fight remains weeks away.
