A reported attempt to cool tensions between Lil Durk and Quando Rondo’s camps is now becoming part of the federal government’s case against the Chicago rapper. The alleged peace talks surfaced in a trial memorandum filed by prosecutors just days before Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, is scheduled to face a federal jury in Los Angeles. Prosecutors said they recently identified a December 2022 chain of text messages and a voice memo in which an affiliate of Quando Rondo allegedly reached out in hopes of ending the conflict.
Prosecutors claim Durk rejected that outreach instead of agreeing to a conversation. The alleged response was, “I’m not hopping on the phone to squash […] this for Thang and Von.” The government contends the reference was to Durk’s late brother Dontay Banks Jr., known as DThang, and his late friend and collaborator King Von. Prosecutors believe the exchange could help establish Durk’s alleged motive and his role within the group the government says participated in the plot.
The reported peace talks take on added significance because prosecutors say they occurred months after the August 2022 shooting that killed Saviay’a Robinson, also known as Lul Pab, while Quando Rondo survived. In another alleged message included in the government’s filing, Durk reportedly said, “Call me bout peace, take the peace of the switch.” Prosecutors reportedly interpret the word “switch” as a reference to a machine gun and argue the statement connects Durk’s continued hostility toward Rondo’s camp with the weaponry used in the Los Angeles attack. Durk has pleaded not guilty, and the allegations have not been proven at trial.
The government is expected to use the alleged rejection of peace as part of a larger argument that Durk was not simply aware of the violence after it happened. Prosecutors say the messages could rebut any defense suggestion that Durk was merely a passive observer. They also intend to argue that the communications show the alleged conspiracy and desire for retaliation continued after Robinson was killed.
That argument is rooted in a conflict prosecutors have traced back several years. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, federal authorities allege Durk had been feuding with Quando Rondo, identified in earlier court documents by his initials, following the November 6, 2020 killing of King Von in Atlanta. Federal prosecutors say Von, whose legal name was Dayvon Bennett, was a close friend of Durk and was fatally shot by an associate of Rondo after a confrontation. The government alleges Durk later put a bounty on Rondo’s life.
Prosecutors say that alleged retaliation eventually led to the August 19, 2022 attack near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. According to the Justice Department, several alleged Only the Family members and associates tracked Rondo for hours before gunmen opened fire at a gas station. Authorities said at least 18 rounds were fired toward Rondo’s vehicle. Rondo survived, but Robinson, his cousin, was fatally shot. The government alleges money connected to Durk and OTF helped finance travel, lodging, and other expenses associated with the attack.
Federal authorities arrested Durk in South Florida in October 2024. According to the Associated Press, the FBI alleged he had booked multiple international flights before authorities detained him near Miami. Durk was later transferred to California and pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. The Justice Department has emphasized that an indictment contains allegations and that every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The legal battle over what jurors will be allowed to hear has intensified as the peace talks allegations emerge. In July, Durk scored an important pretrial victory when U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald agreed to separate newly added racketeering-related charges from the upcoming murder for hire trial. Durk’s attorneys had argued that introducing the additional allegations so close to trial would unfairly force the defense to change its preparation and potentially delay proceedings. The remaining case was kept on track for an August 20 start.
Durk’s defense has also challenged evidence prosecutors want jurors to consider. Judge Fitzgerald ruled on August 13 that prosecutors may introduce Durk’s song and music video “Pissed Me Off” at trial. The government has argued the material is relevant to its theory about retaliation following Von’s death, while Durk’s lawyers have disputed the prosecution’s interpretation and the significance of his artistic expression.
The defense has separately fought prosecutors over information recovered from a phone taken during the investigation of a 2021 home invasion at Durk’s Georgia residence. His attorneys argued that the device was unlawfully seized and that certain material was disclosed too close to trial. Those disputes are part of a broader fight over which communications, music and digital evidence the government will be permitted to place before jurors.
For prosecutors, however, the alleged peace talks may provide a particularly direct window into the motive they plan to present. Rather than relying solely on music, associations or events surrounding the 2022 shooting, the government says Durk’s own communications show someone from Rondo’s side attempted to end the conflict and that Durk refused. Whether jurors accept that interpretation will be one of the questions at the center of a trial carrying the possibility of life in federal prison if Durk is convicted.
