Rapper Lil Durk pleads not guilty in murder-for-hire case, hires prominent Atlanta attorney

LOS ANGELES — Rapper Lil Durk has hired a prominent Atlanta attorney to represent him in a murder-for-hire case.

Drew Findling confirmed to Channel 2′s Michael Seiden that he will be representing Durk. Findling is a highly regarded criminal defense attorney known for representing famous rappers and other high-profile people.

His latest client, Durk, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to murder-for-hire charges.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Durk is accused of arranging a hit on his rival and Georgia rapper Quando Rondo. Prosecutors have said the hit was “retaliation” for the death of rapper King Von, who died in a shooting outside an Atlanta hookah lounge in 2020.

Prosecutors said Durk is the leader of the Chicago-based rap collective “Only the Family,” or OTF. An arrest warrant for Durk described OTF members as “individuals who engage in violence, including murder and assault, at the direction of BANKS and to maintain their status in OTF.”

According to prosecutors, Durk and his associates learned that Rondo was staying in Los Angeles and that several OTF members arrived in Los Angeles on Aug. 18, 2022.

Durk allegedly texted an associate who arranged the flights, “Don’t book no flights under no names involved wit me.” The next day, investigators said OTF members followed Rondo and his cousin to a gas station.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Person shot, critically injured as Atlanta police shut down I-20 ramp
• GBI identifies a dozen bodies found decomposing inside Georgia funeral home
• Laken Riley murder case: Bench trial begins Friday for accused killer Jose Ibarra

According to an FBI affidavit, the group “ambushed” the two of them and started shooting. Rondo survived. Saviay’a Robinson, 24, died in a shooting that U.S Attorney Martin Estrada called “a cold-blooded murder.”

A California grand jury indicted the following OTF members: Kavon London Grant, aka “Vonnie”; Deandre Dontrell Wilson, aka “DeDe”; Keith Jones, aka “Flacka”; David Brian Lindsey, aka “Browneyez” and Asa Houston, aka “Boogie.”

FBI agents later arrested Durk at Miami International Airport after they said Durk tried to leave the country.

Durk is charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of use of interstate facilities to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death, and one count of using, carrying, and discharging firearms and a machine gun and possession of such firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

©2024 Cox Media Group