On Monday (Aug. 24), Lil Durk’s murder-for-hire trial officially began in federal court, with opening statements from both sides presenting sharply different portrayals of the Chicago rapper.
The defense and prosecutors each laid out their arguments, with Durk’s side represented by attorney Marissa Goldberg. During her opening statement, Goldberg argued that Durk is innocent and has been wrongly depicted as the mastermind behind an alleged murder-for-hire scheme targeting fellow rapper Quando Rondo. The alleged plot was reportedly tied to retaliation for the 2020 death of King Von, who was signed to Durk’s Only the Family label. Quando Rondo was reportedly the intended target of a 2022 shooting that resulted in the death of his cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson.
Five Only The Family associates were arrested alongside Lil Durk in 2024, including Deandre Wilson and Kavon Grant. Grant, who has pleaded guilty and is expected to testify during the trial, was described by Goldberg as the person “in charge” of the alleged murder-for-hire plan. She claimed Grant attempted to reduce his own punishment by “minimize[ing] his own involvement” and presenting Durk as the “big fish.”
“They were pressing him about a big fish, and he thought, ‘Oh man…I’ve got an insurance policy,’” Goldberg said, according to Rolling Stone. She pointed out that Grant worked for Durk’s management company, Astronaut Doundz, and had access to a company credit card allegedly connected to the shooting through travel-related purchases. “Mr. Banks had nothing to do with it. He was not there. He had nothing to do with it.”
Goldberg also claimed Grant was responsible for purchasing plane tickets, lodging, black ski masks, and vehicles that investigators later linked to the shooting.
The 33-year-old rapper has pleaded not guilty to the five charges against him, including conspiracy and murder-for-hire. Prosecutors, however, allege that Durk and others used “coded language” while discussing plans to kill Quando Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Terrel Bowman, over what Only the Family members believed was his connection to King Von’s fatal shooting.
Prosecutors alleged that the individuals involved in the planned attack tracked Quando Rondo in Los Angeles before confronting him at a gas station, where they fired at least 18 shots, killing his cousin instead.
Goldberg pushed back on those claims, describing Grant as an “international criminal” who had a “personal vendetta” against Rondo because his father’s relationship with King Von’s father “went back decades.” She argued that rather than seeking retaliation through violence, Lil Durk “channeled” his emotions over Von’s death into “his artwork.” Prosecutors, however, maintained that Banks was the person directing the alleged shooting.
Beyond the Los Angeles incident, Goldberg also accused Grant of arranging a 2021 attempt on Rondo’s life in Blackshear, Georgia, claiming the attack followed the “same playbook” as the alleged Los Angeles shooting.
Meanwhile, co-defendant Deandre Wilson’s attorney portrayed his client as merely a “passenger” in the alleged scheme, while describing Grant as the “perpetrator.”
