Lil Durk Murder-for-Hire Trial Begins in Los Angeles Federal Court

Grammy-winning rapper Durk Banks stands trial in LA accused of orchestrating a 2022 hit on rival rapper Quando Rondo. The shooters killed Rondo's cousin instead.

Rapper Durk Banks Faces Federal Jury Over 2022 Revenge Killing Plot

Opening arguments began Monday in the federal murder-for-hire trial of rapper Lil Durk in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, Courthouse News Service reports. Prosecutors and defense attorneys laid out sharply opposing narratives before a packed gallery that included family members of the accused, the victim's relatives, social media creators, and rapper Colson Baker — known commercially as Machine Gun Kelly.

"This case is about revenge, stalking and premeditated murder," Assistant U.S. Attorney David Weiner told the jury.

On a Friday afternoon in August 2022, rapper Quando Rondo — born Tyquian Bowman — was shopping in Beverly Hills with his 24-year-old cousin, Saviay'a Robinson, and a man named Carlos Johnson. The group was traveling in a black Escalade when the vehicle stopped at a gas station across the street from the Beverly Center. Three masked men dressed in black emerged from an alleyway, opened fire on the car, and fled. Rondo, Johnson, and the driver were unharmed. Robinson, who was standing outside the vehicle, was struck by four bullets and died shortly after.

The Alleged Motive: Avenging King Von

Prosecutors say the shooting was retaliation for the 2020 killing of Chicago rapper Dayvon Bennett, known as King Von, a close associate of Lil Durk. That year, Rondo and Von were involved in a fight in Atlanta; a member of Rondo's entourage shot and killed Von. Weiner told jurors that Banks, 33 — whose legal name is Durk Banks — "became consumed with revenge." Fans, Weiner said, pressured Banks online to "slide for Von," street parlance for avenging a death.

Banks was living in Encino with his wife and children at the time of the shooting. He is widely credited as a pioneer of drill music, a hip-hop subgenre. He won a Grammy Award in 2024 and heads a record label called Only the Family, or OTF, which prosecutors described as operating as a criminal gang.

Five Men Allegedly Deployed to Kill Rondo

According to the government, Banks directed three men to carry out the killing: his personal assistant and "right-hand man" Kavon Grant; rapper Kacey Hester, known as OTF Jam; and rapper Deondre Wilson, known as DeDe. Banks allegedly flew the three to California, where Wilson then recruited David Lindsey and Keith Jones. Prosecutors say the five men spent several days tracking Rondo's movements across Los Angeles while Banks waited for updates by phone. When the group finally acted, their gunfire missed Rondo and struck Robinson instead.

After the shooting, Weiner said, Wilson, Lindsey, and Jones stopped at an In-N-Out Burger for dinner.

Wilson and Lindsey are being tried alongside Banks as co-defendants. Grant, Hester, and Jones have each pleaded guilty and are expected to testify for the prosecution. Weiner described Hester as "a cold-blooded killer" who will tell the jury he was "deployed as a hitman."

Defense: Grant Acted Alone, No Payment Proven

Banks' attorney, Marissa Goldberg, told the jury her client "had nothing to do" with the killing. She argued that Grant — whose own cousin was King Von — was the true architect of the murder plot. Grant was present when Von was shot in 2020, Goldberg said, and drove him to the hospital. According to her account, Von's final words to Grant were: "Why did you let me get shot? Why didn't you do something?"

Grant, Goldberg said, "had ties to the criminal underworld" and access to Banks' credit cards. She contended that Grant independently organized the logistics of the attack — securing the vehicle, a rental car with a fake license plate, firearms, and ski masks purchased from REI.

"He did all of this," Goldberg told the jury.

On the question of payment, she was direct: "There is no money to follow. There's no evidence of a payment, no evidence of a promise." She cautioned jurors that the only evidence linking Banks to the crime comes from Grant and two other cooperating witnesses, all of whom pleaded guilty to murder and are seeking reduced sentences.

Wilson and Lindsey Also Deny Involvement

Wilson's attorney, Craig Harbaugh, told the jury his client traveled to California believing he would be recording music and spending time with more successful artists — not participating in a murder. He claimed Wilson only learned of the plot after arriving, was not given a gun or a ski mask, and was merely a passenger in the BMW from which the shooters emerged. Harbaugh laid responsibility squarely on Grant: "Kavon Grant went to LA to pursue his vendetta against Quando Rondo … he set up everything."

Lindsey's attorney, Tillet Mills, similarly distanced his client from the shooting, questioning the financial premise of the charge. "Where's the money?" Mills asked the jury. "Where's the hire in the murder for hire?" He argued that the cooperating witnesses were "filling in a blank" when they identified Lindsey as one of the gunmen.

Rap Lyrics and Surveillance Evidence Expected

The trial is expected to run approximately three weeks. Jurors will be shown surveillance footage, text message records, and excerpts from Banks' rap catalog, some of which prosecutors contend are incriminating. On the track "Ahhh Ha," Banks sang: "Don't respond to shit with Von. I'm like 'Fuck it, you trippin', go get your gun.'" On "Pissed Me Off," he sang: "I got murders on my mind."

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli was present in the courtroom for Monday's opening statements.

Source: Courthouse News Service