Lil Durk is heading toward a federal trial in Los Angeles as prosecutors disclose they plan to call multiple cooperating witnesses who they say will testify that the rapper ordered and financed a deadly 2022 ambush tied to a long-running Hip-Hop feud.
Federal prosecutors revealed their witness strategy in a new court filing this week as they fight the defense’s efforts to block key testimony and related evidence.
The government says insiders are prepared to describe how the alleged plot was planned, funded and carried out, placing Durk at the center of the operation.
The case stems from the August 2022 killing of Lul Pab, a cousin of rapper Quando Rondo, who was shot to death near a Beverly Hills gas station. Prosecutors allege the killing was retaliation connected to the 2020 slaying of Chicago rapper King Von, a close associate of Durk, whose death intensified tensions between rival camps.
According to prosecutors, the government’s theory is straightforward. They claim Durk used his money, status and trusted intermediaries to arrange the attack from afar.
The filing states that cooperating witnesses will testify that Durk approved the plan, helped coordinate travel and logistics, and promised payment upon completion of the job.
“The government’s proposed evidence also provides critical corroboration of its multiple cooperating witnesses, who are anticipated to testify that [Lil Durk] ordered the violence in
Los Angeles, used intermediaries to recruit others to carry out the scheme, and promised a reward for carrying out the murder,” prosecutors said.
Durk was arrested in October 2024 and later indicted in federal court in the Central District of California. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and remains in custody as the case moves closer to trial.
If convicted, he faces decades in federal prison.
The latest filing was submitted ahead of a January court hearing focused on what evidence jurors will be allowed to hear.
Defense attorneys have asked the judge to exclude testimony and materials they argue unfairly paint Durk and his Only the Family collective, known as OTF, as a criminal enterprise.
Prosecutors strongly oppose that request.
In the filing, the government argues the disputed evidence is essential for jurors to understand relationships among the defendants and why certain individuals allegedly followed orders. Prosecutors say they are not claiming OTF is purely criminal.
Instead, they argue a subset of people associated with the group allegedly operated like a street gang when settling disputes.
“The evidence shows that [Lil Durk] and his close OTF associates had rivalries, discussed violence against rivals and took violent street action to settle scores with their rivals, including the Los Angeles murder defendants, are alleged to have committed in this case,” prosecutors said.
Defense lawyers have signaled they plan to attack the credibility of cooperating witnesses, characterizing them as untrustworthy and self-interested.
Prosecutors acknowledged that strategy in the filing but said it does not justify keeping the testimony from the jury.
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