Lil Durk’s federal murder-for-hire trial is officially underway in Los Angeles, and opening statements have already revealed what could become one of the most important elements of the government’s case: three men connected to the alleged plot have pleaded guilty and are expected to testify for the prosecution.
Prosecutors told jurors that Kavon Grant, known as OTF Vonni; Kacey “OTF Jam” Hester; and Keith “Flacka” Jones are cooperating witnesses who will take the stand against Durk, whose real name is Durk Banks. Their testimony could provide jurors with firsthand accounts of events surrounding the August 2022 shooting that killed Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson, the cousin of rapper Quando Rondo.
Durk has pleaded not guilty and faces the possibility of life in federal prison if convicted.
The government alleges the Grammy-winning Chicago rapper financed and orchestrated a murder-for-hire plot targeting Quando Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Bowman, as retaliation for the November 2020 killing of Durk’s close friend and OTF artist King Von, born Dayvon Bennett.
“This is a case about revenge, stalking and pre-meditated murder,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Weiner told jurors during opening statements. Prosecutors contend Durk used his money and position within OTF to finance the alleged hit team’s travel and expenses.
Quando survived the Aug. 19, 2022 attack near Los Angeles’ Beverly Center, but Robinson, 24, was fatally shot.
Durk’s attorneys presented jurors with a dramatically different story.
Rather than Durk directing the operation, the defense pointed toward Grant, Durk’s former personal assistant, as the person responsible for organizing the alleged retaliation. Defense attorney Marissa Goldberg argued that prosecutors are attempting to make Durk the “big fish” when the evidence instead points toward Grant and others acting independently.
According to the defense’s opening, Grant had a particularly personal reason to want revenge. Durk’s attorneys told jurors that Grant was present when King Von was fatally shot outside Atlanta’s Monaco Hookah Lounge in Nov. 2020. The defense alleges that a wounded Von questioned Grant about why he had allowed him to be shot and demanded that he do something.
Those assertions are part of the defense theory and have not been established as fact.
The defense also highlighted Grant’s alleged involvement in an earlier May 2021 attempt to target Quando Rondo in Georgia, as well as his alleged role in obtaining vehicles, hotel rooms, firearms and ski masks surrounding the 2022 Los Angeles attack.
That makes Grant’s eventual testimony particularly important. Prosecutors are expected to portray him as someone with direct knowledge of Durk’s alleged instructions, while Durk’s attorneys are positioning him as a participant with powerful incentives to shift responsibility onto their client after pleading guilty.
OTF Jam and Flacka could be equally significant. Prosecutors identified all three men as cooperating witnesses during opening statements, signaling that the government intends to rely not only on surveillance footage, travel records, text messages and other evidence, but testimony from individuals it says were directly connected to the alleged operation.
Durk’s defense is expected to attack their credibility, particularly any benefits they could potentially receive for cooperating with federal prosecutors.
The case is also being watched closely throughout Hip Hop because of the government’s attempted use of Durk’s music and lyrics as evidence, including his 2021 record “Pissed Me Off.” The defense has argued that prosecutors risk turning Durk’s artistic persona into evidence of criminal intent rather than proving that he actually ordered the shooting.
Durk has assembled a high-profile defense team that includes Drew Findling and Brian Steel, attorneys well known for representing prominent Hip Hop artists, along with Goldberg and other counsel.
The jury was seated after two days of selection that included extensive questioning about potential jurors’ attitudes toward rap music and whether those views could interfere with their ability to evaluate the case fairly.
Now the theories have been placed squarely in front of them.
The government says Durk was “consumed with revenge” and financed a team to hunt down Quando Rondo.
Durk’s defense says prosecutors have the wrong man—and that Kavon Grant and the very witnesses now cooperating with the government are where the jury should be looking.
With Vonni, Jam and Flacka still expected to take the stand, some of the most consequential testimony in Durk’s fight for his freedom has yet to come.