Key Takeaways
- Young Thug called for cooperating witnesses OTF Jam and OTF Vonnie to receive 122 years after Lil Durk won an acquittal in his federal murder-for-hire trial.
- Jurors cleared Durk on all five counts tied to a 2022 shooting that targeted Quando Rondo but killed his cousin Saviay'a "Lul Pab" Robinson.
- Durk remains in custody ahead of a separate Los Angeles trial on racketeering-related charges scheduled to begin October 5.
Young Thug has spoken out about the witnesses who testified against Lil Durk following the Chicago rapper's acquittal in his federal murder-for-hire trial.
Shortly after Durk was found not guilty on Friday (September 11), Thugger took to social media and called for lengthy prison sentences for two of the cooperating witnesses in the case, Kacey "OTF Jam" Hester and Kavon "OTF Vonnie" Grant.
The YSL boss wrote on Instagram that he hoped the pair received "44,537 days a piece #gamegod please," which equates to about 122 years.
Thug followed that message with another post referencing Durk by his Smurk nickname. "Tell smurk to say something if I'm lying #Freesmurkio," he wrote.
Thugger also appeared to suggest that he played a role in helping Durk's defense, writing on X: "Thank me later."
In another post, he referenced attorney Brian Steel, who previously represented Thug in the sprawling YSL RICO case before joining Durk's legal team. "I didn't have to pay lol Brian does whatever I say on face asksmurk," Thug wrote.
Steel, who also worked on Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal case, was part of Durk's defense team as the rapper fought charges stemming from a deadly 2022 shooting.
A jury consisting of seven women and five men acquitted Durk on Friday after deliberations began two days earlier. He was found not guilty of five counts, including conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and use of interstate facilities to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death.
Federal prosecutors accused Durk of ordering the 2022 shooting as retaliation for the death of King Von, who was killed in 2020. Quando Rondo, born Tyiquan Bowman, was the alleged target of the attack, which instead killed his cousin Saviay'a "Lul Pab" Robinson.
Hester, Grant and Keith "Flacka" Jones all testified as cooperating witnesses after pleading guilty in connection with the case. Durk's attorneys attempted to shift responsibility toward Grant, with defense attorney Drew Findling describing him during the trial as a "fraudster" and "master of deception."
Despite the acquittal, Durk isn't going home yet. He remains in custody ahead of a separate trial on racketeering-related charges, which is scheduled to begin October 5 in federal court in Los Angeles.
