A federal jury in Los Angeles has acquitted rapper
The case centered on a shooting that occurred on August 19, 2022, near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. While Quando Rondo survived the incident, his cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson, was fatally wounded. Prosecutors contended that the attack was a coordinated effort by individuals associated with Banks’s record label, Only the Family (OTF), and that the rapper had personally facilitated the operation as an act of revenge.
The Prosecution’s Case and the Link to King Von
The government’s narrative throughout the trial relied heavily on the 2020 death of Dayvon Bennett, known professionally as King Von. Bennett, a close associate of Banks and a prominent artist on the OTF label, was killed on November 6, 2020, following a confrontation outside a lounge in Atlanta. Timothy Leeks, also known as Lul Timm, was accused of shooting Bennett during that altercation.
Prosecutors argued that Bennett’s death served as the primary motive for the 2022 shooting in Los Angeles. They alleged that Banks sought to target Quando Rondo due to his connection to the earlier conflict in Atlanta. To support these claims, the prosecution presented testimony from cooperating witnesses and other evidence intended to link the rapper to the planning and financing of the California attack.
Defense Strategy and Jury Deliberations
Throughout the proceedings, Banks maintained his innocence, entering a plea of not guilty and choosing not to testify in his own defense. His legal team argued that the prosecution’s case was built on unreliable testimony and that the government had failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove his direct involvement in the conspiracy.
Defense attorneys characterized Banks as a scapegoat, suggesting that a former associate, Kavon Grant, was the individual responsible for the events in question. The defense maintained that the government’s witnesses lacked credibility, a point they emphasized during closing arguments. Following the conclusion of the trial, the jury began deliberations on September 9. After several days of review, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on all five counts, which included charges of stalking and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. The acquittal signifies that the prosecution failed to meet the legal burden of proving the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
