Lil Durk Murder-for-Hire Trial Goes to Jury as Rapper Faces Life in Prison

A federal jury in Los Angeles began deliberating Wednesday in Lil Durk’s murder-for-hire trial after prosecutors accused the Chicago rapper of financing a deadly revenge plot and his attorneys argued the government built its case around cooperating witnesses seeking lighter sentences.

Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, has pleaded not guilty to five federal charges stemming from an August 2022 shooting that prosecutors say was intended to kill rival rapper Quando Rondo, whose legal name is Tyquian Bowman. Bowman survived, but his cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson, was killed.

Banks is standing trial alongside Deondre Wilson and David Lindsey before U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald. He faces a possible life sentence if convicted on the most serious charges.

Closing arguments Tuesday gave jurors competing accounts of who was responsible for the shooting and whether prosecutors proved Banks knowingly directed or financed the alleged plot.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yanniello told jurors Banks “had his shooters on speed dial” and argued that he used his money and influence to arrange retaliation against Bowman following the 2020 killing of rapper King Von, a close friend and collaborator of Banks.

Prosecutors say members and associates of Banks’ Only The Family collective traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles, tracked Bowman and opened fire on his vehicle near the Beverly Center on Aug. 19, 2022. Robinson was killed in the attack.

The government’s case seeks to hold Banks responsible as an alleged organizer and financier of the operation rather than as one of the gunmen.

Prosecutors relied in part on testimony from three cooperating witnesses, Kasey “OTF Jam” Hester, Kavon “OTF Vonnie” Grant and Keith Jones, who pleaded guilty in connection with the alleged plot.

Grant, Banks’ former personal assistant, testified that Banks directed parts of the operation and later asked whether “we got him.” Jones told jurors he was informed that “Durk got a million for us,” which he understood as a reference to a $1 million bounty on Bowman.

The government also presented surveillance footage, travel records, text messages, and expenses allegedly charged to Banks’ credit cards. Prosecutors highlighted a message in which Banks wrote, “Don’t book no flights under no names involved wit me,” arguing it reflected an effort to conceal his connection to people involved in the trip.

Defense attorneys Brian Steel and Drew Findling said the message concerned an unrelated wedding trip to Mexico and accused prosecutors of assigning criminal meaning to evidence that did not establish Banks ordered the shooting.

Findling told jurors the case contained a “tsunami of reasonable doubt.” Steel focused much of his closing argument on the credibility of the cooperating witnesses and the sentencing benefits they could receive from assisting the government.

Banks’ attorneys placed particular emphasis on Grant, arguing he had his own motive to retaliate for King Von’s death and used access to Banks’ money and connections while acting independently.

The defense played a recorded jail call in which Grant referred to “certain things I did on my own.” Attorneys also pointed to Banks’ decision to fire Grant months after the shooting as evidence that conflicted with the prosecution’s account of their relationship.

Other testimony raised disputes over parts of the cooperators’ accounts. Hester testified that he heard Banks in the background of a telephone call connected to the alleged plan, while Hester’s wife later challenged his description of the conversation. King Von’s former girlfriend, Shekema Springfield, testified for the defense and described Grant as dishonest.

Jurors are now considering five counts involving stalking and murder-for-hire. The charges allow them to evaluate Banks’ alleged participation in the broader operation, including claims that he helped arrange or finance it, rather than focusing only on who fired the shots.

Prosecutors must prove each charge beyond a reasonable doubt and establish the level of knowledge and participation required for that offense. The testimony of cooperating witnesses, financial records and communications presented during the two-week trial are central to that determination.

Wilson and Lindsey have also pleaded not guilty and separately challenged the evidence against them.

The jury received the case Wednesday following Tuesday’s closing arguments. Banks remains in federal custody as deliberations continue over whether prosecutors proved his involvement in the alleged murder-for-hire plot that left Robinson dead four years ago.