Lil Durk Won't Take The Stand In His Murder-For-Hire Trial

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares
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Lil Durk Wont Take Stand Murder For Hire Trial
May 2, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago rapper Lil Durk (L) chats with Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson (R) before a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
Both the defense and the prosecution in Lil Durk's murder-for-hire trial have rested their cases, which means closing arguments are next.

Lil Durk has been in prison for almost two years due to his murder-for-hire trial, which is about to wrap up. The prosecution and the defense officially rested their cases yesterday (Thursday, September 3), which means the court and the jury never heard from the three alleged coconspirators who prosecutors claim orchestrated, assisted in, or attempted to carry out the hit on Quando Rondo in 2022. Rondo did not die in that Los Angeles shooting in August, but it did take the life of Rondo's cousin, Saviay’a "Lul Pab" Robinson.

Per journalist Michael Blackshire, Durk, Deandre "OTF Dede" Wilson, and David "Browneyez" Lindsey will not take the stand to provide testimony about their alleged role in all of this. Prosecutors accused the Chicago rapper of organizing the whole thing, Dede of coordinating logistics, and Browneyez of being one of the gunmen.

The Voice's defense team pointed to one of Lil Durk's alleged coconspirators, Kavon "OTF Vonnie" Grant, as the true culprit of the hit on Quando. Vonnie had testified against Smurk along with others who originally faced charges in this case, and many other witnesses for the prosecution.

When Is Lil Durk's Next Court Date?

Elsewhere, Durk's defense team's witnesses included Kevin Freeman from Durk's Neighborhood Heroes non-profit organization, his sound engineer Justin Gibson, the wife of OTF Jam, Jam's ex-girlfriend, and more. Lil Durk also recently broke his silence amid this trial with a simple message posted to his Instagram: "Allah Is The Greatest."

If everything goes according to the current expected schedule, closing arguments in this case will begin on Tuesday, September 8. Without testimony from the codefendants, jurors will base their deliberation solely on testimonies and evidence presented against these defendants. It's by no means an uncommon legal strategy to refuse testimony, but like everything else in the trial, it has a big impact.

Elsewhere, closing arguments will give both sides a chance to summarize their claims and highlight the evidence they find to be the most damning, important, or absolving. As for how long closing arguments and jury deliberation will last, we will have to wait and see. Soon, a long-running saga will start to resolve.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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