Source: Broward County Clerk of the Courts / Broward County Clerk of the Courts
Lil Durk has pleaded not guilty to federal charges over an alleged plot to kill Quando Rondo in a 2022 shooting.
At a hearing Thursday in Los Angeles federal court, the Chicago rapper was arraigned on conspiracy, murder-for-hire, and firearms charges. Billboard reports that He pleaded not guilty to all three.
The court appearance comes three weeks after the rapper was arrested and charged with orchestrating the attack at an LA gas station, in which Lul Pab died in the crossfire.
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Additionally, documents filed Thursday also reveal that Durk hired Drew Findling, a prominent Atlanta criminal defense attorney with an extensive history representing rappers.
Prosecutors claim that the “Only The Family” crew was not merely a well-publicized group of Chicago rappers but instead a “hybrid organization” that also functioned as a criminal gang to carry out violent acts “at the direction” of Durk.
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They say one of those acts was the 2022 attempted killing of Rondo, allegedly carried out in retaliation for the 2020 killing of rapper King Von, born Dayvon Bennett.
“Banks put a monetary bounty out for an individual with whom Banks was feuding named T.B.,” prosecutors wrote in the charges last month, referring to Rondo by his initials. “Banks ordered T.B.’s murder and the hitmen used Banks and OTF-related finances to carry out the murder.”
Last week, prosecutors also cited Durk’s lyrics, claiming he had directly referenced the Rondo shooting in a 2022 track called “Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy.” They claim the lyrics tie Durk to the killing and that he was seeking to “commercialize” Lul Pab’s death by “rapping about his revenge.”
As he awaits trial, Durk is incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, a federal prison frequently used to house defendants before and during trial.
Durk will appear again before the judge next month to decide whether he will be released on bail as he prepares for trial.
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