Lil Durk, 33, was acquitted of all charges Friday after a two-week federal trial in downtown Los Angeles. The Grammy-winning rapper had faced five federal counts, including conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking resulting in death, and murder for hire.
Prosecutors alleged Durk orchestrated a murder-for-hire plot against rival rapper Quando Rondo, claiming he sought revenge for the 2020 killing of his close friend and musical protégé King Von. On August 19, 2022, three gunmen opened fire on Quando Rondo’s Escalade at a gas station across from the Beverly Center shopping mall. Quando Rondo, whose legal name is Tyquian Bowman, survived, but his 24-year-old cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, known as Lul Pab, was killed.
The government’s case relied heavily on three cooperating witnesses who reached plea deals, including two of the shooters: Kasey “OTF Jam” Hester and Keith Jones. Both pleaded guilty to charges including murder and murder for hire. The third cooperator, Durk’s former personal assistant Kavon “OTF Vonnie” Grant, also pleaded guilty and testified he obtained the guns and stolen vehicle used in the attack.
Durk’s defense team argued the three men lied to reduce their own sentences. Defense lawyer Drew Findling contended that Grant, not Durk, was the true “mastermind” of the shooting and had manipulated prosecutors into blaming Durk. Findling noted that Durk fired Grant in early 2023, months after Robinson’s death, questioning why he would dismiss someone assigned to lead a killing.
The trial included evidence of Durk’s unreleased “Redman” music video, filmed in January 2021, showing him mourning King Von and then chasing and shooting an actor. Prosecutors presented it as evidence of revenge motive; the defense characterized it as creative expression by a grief-stricken artist. Defense lawyers also highlighted jail calls in which cooperator Hester told his wife he would “do what I got to do” to avoid prison time.
Source: Rolling Stone
