Lil Durk will not face the death penalty in his federal murder-for-hire case, according to a decision announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
On Tuesday (June 2), the Department of Justice confirmed it would not pursue capital punishment against Durk or any of his five co-defendants despite their eligibility under federal law.
The decision means that if convicted, the men could still face life in prison or other severe penalties, but not execution.
The 31-year-old Chicago rapper is accused of financing and directing a murder-for-hire plot that allegedly targeted Quando Rondo, a Georgia rapper.
Prosecutors say the plan instead led to the fatal shooting of Rondo’s cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson, on August 19, 2022.
According to court filings, Lil Durk allegedly placed a bounty on Quando Rondo and used members of his rap crew, Only the Family (OTF), to carry out the attack.
Federal prosecutors believe the hit was retaliation for the 2020 killing of OTF affiliate King Von, who died in a shootout outside an Atlanta nightclub.
Durk faces four federal charges: conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, use of interstate facilities in a murder-for-hire resulting in death, discharging a firearm in a violent crime resulting in death, and stalking resulting in death.
The indictment also names five other men: Kavon London Grant of Atlanta, Deandre Dontrell Wilson and Asa Houston of Chicago, Keith Jones of Gary, Indiana, and David Brian Lindsey of Addison.
Each faces identical charges tied to the same alleged murder-for-hire scheme. Durk was arrested in South Florida, where authorities say he was attempting to flee the country.
He has pleaded not guilty.