Lil Durk Acquitted in Murder-for-Hire Trial

A federal jury has found Lil Durk not guilty of plotting to kill Georgia rapper Quando Rondo. Durk has been in federal custody since 2024, when he was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit stalking, and stalking resulting in death.

Prosecutors had argued the Grammy winner worked with a cohort of five men tied to his Only the Family (OTF) collective to orchestrate a hit on Quando Rondo, born Tyquian Bowman, as revenge for the 2020 murder of Durk’s friend King Von. Timothy “Lul Timm” Leeks, who prosecutors said was “an associate” of Bowman’s, was later charged with killing Von. Those charges were eventually dropped.

The federal government’s case was mostly built on the testimony of Durk’s associates, who were initially charged as co-defendants before pleading guilty. Prosecutors sought to use Durk’s lyrics as evidence in the case, a controversial tactic many artists and First Amendment advocates have criticized; Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald eventually ruled to admit some lyrics referencing Durk’s state of mind following the death of Von.

Kavon Grant, aka OTF Vonnie, alleged Durk promised cash for Bowman’s murder, while Durk’s defense team (including Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug during his YSL trial) argued Grant was actually the one behind the shooting and that the government’s case was built on cooperators desperate to avoid life sentences. Kacey Hester, aka OTF Jam, said he was among those who trailed Bowman before ambushing him at a gas station, where they instead shot and killed Bowman’s cousin Saviay’a Tilal “Lul Pab” Robinson. “It’s Durk’s fault,” Hester testified. “Durk put us in the situation.” Durk had consistently denied the charges.

Durk will remain in custody until an additional trial on racketeering charges that were severed from the first case. In a statement, first assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said that “while we are disappointed with the jury’s decision, we look forward to presenting our evidence at his second trial, scheduled for October 5.”