Lil Durk trial: How is King Von’s death linked to Quando Rondo plot? Case revisited amid not guilty verdict
Lil Durk has been found not guilty on all charges in his federal murder-for-hire trial in Los Angeles, bringing an end to the case that prosecutors said was tied to revenge for King Von’s death. The rapper, whose real name is Durk Devontay Banks, was accused of helping arrange a 2022 attack targeting Quando Rondo.
Rondo survived the shooting, but his cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson, was killed. Prosecutors said the attack came after Von was killed in Atlanta in 2020. A jury has now acquitted Durk on all five counts.
How King Von’s death started the alleged revenge plot?
King Von, whose real name was Dayvon Bennett, was shot and killed on November 6, 2020, outside Monaco Hookah Lounge in Atlanta. The shooting followed an altercation involving Von’s group and Quando Rondo’s group.
Timothy Leeks, also known as Lul Timm, was accused of shooting Von during the fight. Von was a close friend of Lil Durk and one of the main artists connected to his Only the Family, or OTF, label.
According to prosecutors, Von’s death later became the reason for an alleged revenge plan against Rondo. The government argued that Durk wanted Rondo killed because of the earlier conflict.
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What happened to Quando Rondo in Los Angeles?
The alleged plan moved to Los Angeles in August 2022, when Quando Rondo was there. Prosecutors said people linked to OTF traveled from Chicago to California as part of the operation.
On August 19, 2022, gunmen opened fire at Rondo’s vehicle near the Beverly Center. Rondo survived, but his cousin Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson was fatally shot.
The case against Durk focused on whether he knowingly helped arrange or pay for the attack. The prosecution presented cooperating witnesses and other evidence to connect him to the alleged plan, while his lawyers argued that former associate Kavon Grant was responsible and that the government’s witnesses could not be trusted.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the defense presented Durk as a scapegoat rather than the person who planned the shooting.
Lil Durk trial ends with not guilty verdict
Durk pleaded not guilty throughout the case and did not testify at trial. After closing arguments, the jury began deliberating on September 9 and continued for several days before reaching its decision.
The five counts included allegations involving stalking and a murder-for-hire conspiracy connected to Robinson’s death. The New York Times reported before the verdict that the case centered on prosecutors’ claim that the 2022 attack was retaliation for King Von’s killing.
The jury ultimately found Lil Durk not guilty on all charges, giving him a complete acquittal in the federal murder-for-hire case. The verdict means prosecutors did not prove the charges against him beyond a reasonable doubt.
