Lil Durk Put a Bounty on Quando Rondo for ‘Revenge,’ Jury Told as Murder-for-Hire Trial Opens

A federal prosecutor told jurors on the first day of Lil Durk’s murder-for-hire trial that the Chicago rapper put out a hit on rival Quando Rondo after becoming “consumed with revenge” for the murder of fellow rapper King Von.  

Opening statements were held at the Downtown Los Angeles federal courthouse on Monday (Aug. 24) for charges that the rapper (Durk Banks) ordered his Only the Family (OTF) label crew to kill Rondo in retaliation for Von’s 2020 killing. Rondo was shot at a Los Angeles gas station in 2022 and survived, but another man known as Lul Pab was killed in the crossfire. Durk and several others are charged with counts including conspiracy, stalking and murder-for-hire.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Weiner told the jury in his opening that Durk paid for flights taking numerous OTF associates from Chicago to Los Angeles, where the plan was for these individuals to “track, stalk, hunt and kill” Rondo.  

“Mr. Banks used his wealth and used his purse strings to put pressure on his OTF members to get that revenge,” said Weiner.

The prosecution’s evidence includes surveillance video of the gas station shooting, text messages and even Durk’s rap lyrics. They also have three cooperating witnesses who’ve pled guilty and will testify against Durk: two of the shooters, Kacey “OTF Jam” and Keith “Flacka” Jones, as well as Kavon “Vonnie” Grant, who prosecutors say was Durk’s “right-hand man” and who procured stolen cars and guns for the crime.

Durk has consistently maintained his innocence since being arrested in 2024. One of his defense lawyers, Marissa Goldberg, argued in her own opening on Monday that Durk had “nothing to do with” the shooting, and there isn’t any evidence to show he paid for a hit.

Goldberg said the real mastermind of the plot was Vonnie, who had been best friends with Von since birth and had been the one to drive the rapper to the hospital in 2020 while he bled out in his backseat. Goldberg argued that Vonnie had access to Durk’s credit cards since he worked for OTF, giving him a convenient excuse to blame the rap star once he got caught by law enforcement.

“He thought, ‘Oh man, I’ve got an insurance policy,’” said Goldberg of Vonnie’s decision to point the finger at Durk. “I’ve got a big fish I can give them.”

Also in her opening argument, Goldberg cautioned jurors not to give any weight to the rap lyrics and music videos that come in as evidence. Prosecutors claim these songs show Durk’s desire to avenge Von’s death. On “Ahhh Ha,” for example, he rapped, “Don’t respond to s–t with Von/ I’m like, ‘f–k it, you trippin’, go get your gun’/ They droppin’ locations, I’m gettin’ it done/ F–k tweetin’, we slidin’, the feds are comin’.”

Goldberg said Durk indeed was affected by Von’s killing, as was his entire community in Chicago. But she argued that these lyrics show Durk “challenging his emotions through his artwork” as an “expression of how the community felt,” rather than any criminal motive or plan to actually execute a revenge plot.  

“This is art. This is performance,” said Goldberg. “This is what he did for a living.”

Also being tried alongside Durk are David “Browneyez” Lindsey, who’s accused of shooting at Rondo, and Deandre “OTF Dede” Wilson, who was allegedly riding in one of the getaway cars that day in 2022. Both men deny the charges.

Lindsey’s lawyer argued in his opening statement Monday that there are no messages proving he helped orchestrate the conspiracy and no cash flows to show he received a financial benefit. Wilson’s attorney said he was merely a passenger and got “trapped” into being present for the crime after traveling to Los Angeles on what he thought was a music opportunity with the OTF label.  

A fourth person charged in the case, Asa “OTF Boogie” Houston, also says he’s innocent but will be tried separately at a later date.

The trial is expected to last several weeks. If convicted on all charges, Durk and his co-defendants face up to life in prison.