Judge Limits What Prosecutors Can Argue Against Lil Durk

Prosecutors ruled out an unknown DeDe plot as Lil Durk’s lawyers kept open a possible appeal over shared criminal blame.

Lil Durk’s lawyers have laid the groundwork for a possible appeal before jurors even have the case.

The dispute involves a rule that can hold one person responsible for another’s crime. The defense raised it Friday during talks over the final jury rules in Lil Durk’s federal trial.

Lil Durk was not at the Los Angeles gas station where the shots were fired. He did not ride in either car used to follow Tyquian “Quando Rondo” Bowman.

The August 19, 2022, attack missed Quando Rondo. It killed his cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson.

Prosecutors say Lil Durk still caused the attack. They claim he ordered it, paid its costs and backed a cash reward.

The jury rule at issue gives them another path. Courts call it the Pinkerton rule. The name comes from a 1946 Supreme Court case.

In plain terms, a person may be blamed for a crime committed by someone else in the same plot. But there are limits.

Jurors must first find that the person joined the charged plan. The other crime must help that plan. It must also be a result the group could fairly expect.

U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald explained the rule without hiding behind court terms. A person who joins a crime plan can also be guilty of acts done to carry it out.

Lil Durk’s lawyer Christy O’Connor objected to giving jurors that option. Fitzgerald said higher courts have made the rule binding. He said he could not remove it.

Yet the judge confirmed that her objection may matter after a guilty verdict.

“What the defense is saying here is that they want the right, if there should be convictions, to raise this issue with the full Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court,” Fitzgerald said.

The Ninth Circuit has said the other crime must fit the joint plan. It must also be a result the accused person could expect.

That rule matters in this case. The government does not claim Lil Durk pulled a trigger. It must show that he knowingly stood behind the plan.

O’Connor said the jury rules still pose a risk. Jurors might blame Lil Durk for a reward offered alone by Kavon “OTF Vonni” Grant or Deondre “DeDe” Wilson.

She gave the court a simple example. Jurors might think Lil Durk paid for a car or flight. They might still reject the claim that he promised cash for a death.

The defense says that would not prove the case set out in the charges. That concern forced prosecutors to set a clear limit on their closing statement.

Fitzgerald asked if they would seek a guilty verdict based on a plan DeDe made in Los Angeles without Lil Durk’s knowledge.

“The Government will not argue that,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yanniello answered. Fitzgerald said he will enforce that promise Tuesday.

The point gives the defense a strong line for closing.

A plan run by DeDe or OTF Vonni cannot, on its own, secure a conviction against Lil Durk. Prosecutors must prove he knew about it and joined it.

O’Connor said the written rules could still cause trouble. Jurors will take them into the jury room. They may form ideas that neither side used in court.

Fitzgerald called that risk unlikely. He noted other rules that warn against guilt by association.

Jurors will hear that mere ties are not enough. Shared interests are not enough. Similar acts are not enough. Even knowing about a crime does not prove that a person joined it.

Those rules support Lil Durk’s main defense. His lawyers say OTF Vonni used the rapper’s money and name while running the plan himself.

OTF Vonni gave the jury the opposite story. He said Lil Durk gave the order.

OTF Jam and Keith “Flacka” Jones also tied Lil Durk to the claimed bounty. All three men pleaded guilty. Each hopes his help will lead to less prison time.

Lil Durk, DeDe and David “Browneyez” Lindsey have pleaded not guilty. The five counts include a stalking conspiracy, stalking with a dangerous weapon, stalking that led to Lul Pab’s death, a murder-for-hire conspiracy and a murder-for-hire count tied to her death.

Prosecutors say the attack sought revenge after King Von died in 2020. Lil Durk denies joining, ordering or paying for the plan.

Both sides rested Thursday. Closing statements begin Tuesday, September 8.

If jurors convict Lil Durk, his lawyers have kept this issue alive. A higher court could then be asked to review the rule that led to the case being sent to the jury.

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