Lil Durk was allegedly so focused on getting revenge against Quando Rondo that he rejected an opportunity to make peace, according to a new filing from federal prosecutors. The claim comes after prosecutors accused the Chicago rapper of organizing a shooting intended for Rondo that instead resulted in the death of his cousin.
Durk is just days away from going on trial over murder-for-hire allegations tied to the August 2022 shooting that killed Rondo’s cousin, Saviay’a Robinson. Prosecutors claim Durk organized and funded the attack as retaliation for the death of his friend and labelmate, King Von. In a filing on Monday (August 17), prosecutors said they had “recently identified” a series of text messages showing Durk was allegedly offered a chance to settle his feud with Quando Rondo months after the shooting but turned it down.
In their trial memorandum, prosecutors said they plan to show not only that Durk and his alleged co-conspirators attempted to kill Rondo during the 2022 shooting, but also that the alleged plan for violent retaliation continued afterward.
As part of their evidence, prosecutors intend to introduce a text message and voice memo they say Durk sent in December, 2022, “telling his co-conspirators that an affiliate of [Rondo’s] reached out to ‘squash’ the rivalry and ask for ‘peace.’”
“Defendant Banks told his coconspirators he rejected the peace offering, stating ‘I’m not hopping on the phone to squash’ a rivalry because ‘this for [his late brother d-]thang and von,’” the trial memo continues.
According to the memo, Durk also said, “call me [a]bout peace[,] take the peace of the switch,” which prosecutors claim was a reference to the machine gun allegedly used in the shooting that killed Robinson.
The government argues that the alleged exchange could weaken a possible defense that Durk knew about Robinson’s killing but was not personally involved. Prosecutors also claim it demonstrates his alleged “leadership” among the co-conspirators, supports their argument that he was motivated to avenge King Von, and “rebut[s] any suggestion” that he was merely a “passive observer” in Robinson’s killing.
His trial is set to begin on August 20, with one final pre-trial hearing scheduled for Tuesday (Aug. 18).
