Lil Durk was so intent on revenge against Quando Rondo that he turned down a chance for peace, even after the Chicago rapper orchestrated a shooting that was supposed to get Rondo but killed his cousin instead — that’s the story federal prosecutors are telling in a new filing.
Durk is days away from being tried for murder-for-hire for the August 2022 shooting that killed Rondo’s cousin Saviay'a Robinson — a killing that prosecutors say Durk organized and paid for as revenge for the death of his friend and labelmate King Von. In a filing on Monday (August 17), prosecutors said they have “recently identified” a chain of text messages showing that Durk had been offered a chance to squash his beef with Quando Rondo months after that shooting, but turned it down.
In a trial memorandum, prosecutors explained that they would attempt to prove at trial not only that Durk and his alleged co-conspirators attempted to kill Rondo during the 2022 shooting; they also would show evidence that the conspiracy to get violent revenge continued even after that.
To that end, they plan on introducing at trial an exhibit containing what they say is a text message and voice memo from Durk from 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.
Durk continued, per the memo, “call me [a]bout peace[,] take the peace of the switch,” which prosecutors say is a nod to the machine gun used in the shooting that killed Robinson.
The government says that this alleged exchange cuts off a potential defense for Durk: that he had knowledge of Robinson’s killing, but was not involved in it. They also say that it demonstrates Durk’s “leadership” over his alleged co-conspirators, shows his motive to avenge Von, and “rebut[s] any suggestion” that Durk was a “passive observer” of Robinson’s killing.
Complex has reached out to Lil Durk’s attorneys for comment on the alleged text thread. His trial begins on August 20, with one final pre-trial hearing set for Tuesday (Aug. 18).
