Lil Durk could face death penalty if found guilty
On October 24th, Chicago native Lil Durk was arrested in the Broward County of South Florida for alleged murder-for-hire. The arrest relates to a 2022 incident that saw Quando Rondo’s cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, murdered in Los Angeles during an attempted drive-by shooting.
As part of the rap collective OTF, Lil Durk cultivated talent from Chicago. One of his early protégés was the late emcee King Von, whom he signed. Both MCs were members of the Chicago street gang ‘The Black Disciples’ and were good friends.
King Von’s murder in 2020 occurred after an altercation with Quando Rondo’s crew outside the Monaco hookah lounge in Atlanta. The incident involved a firearm, which led to Von’s death. However, the Atlanta rapper was not ultimately charged with his murder.
In November 2020, Timothy “Lul Tim” Leeks was arrested for the suspected murder of King Von. However, after lengthy legal proceedings in August of 2023, his charges were dropped under Georgia’s “stand-your-ground” law, which suggested, based on the evidence, that he acted in self-defence. No other suspect has been named in King Von’s death since.
That said, a retaliatory murder was inevitable and in 2022, while Quando Rondo was in a car with his team in LA, a vehicle pulled up beside him at a gas station, and several shots were fired at him and his team. However, although he managed to leave unscathed, his cousin was hit and died from the injuries incurred.
The people involved in the 2022 driveby were investigated, and now police have confirmed that there is evidence that links the incident to the OTF label. Allegedly flights and rental cars of the arrested were all paid for by a credit card, which can be traced back to the company.
Furthermore, the prosecution suggests that a currently anonymous member of the collective was offering what is described as “lucrative music opportunities” to anyone who was willing to kill Quando Rondo. Other gang members known to Durk have also been arrested and charged with murder-for-hire, including five Chicago natives with OTF connections.
The official charges facing Durk and the five affiliates are conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, committing murder-for-hire resulting in death, as well as the use of, carry and discharge of firearms and a machinegun in the furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death.
That said, DJ Akademiks has since reported that Lil Durk could potentially face the death penalty or a life sentence if he is found guilty on all charges. He is currently being held in police custody without bond, but the rapper’s lawyers, Brian Bieber and Alek Ubieta, say he’ll appear in Federal court in Fort Lauderdale late on October 25th.
Durk is yet to comment on his arrest.