Federal officials have indicted five Chicago men in a murder-for-hire scheme intended to kill the rapper Quando Rondo in Los Angeles. The indictment relates to the purported attempted revenge for the murder of another rapper, King Von, which occurred in 2020. This killing plot represents yet another strand of unfortunate gang violence to hit the hip-hop world.
The indictment, recently unsealed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, names the following individuals:
- Kavon London Grant
- Deandre Dontrell Wilson
- Keith Jones
- David Brian Lindsey
- Asa Houston
Each of these men is accused of: conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, committing murder-for-hire resulting in death, and the use of a machine gun in a violent crime leading to death. Given just how serious these allegations are, it really is substantiation that violence and rivalries remain so very prevalent within the music industry.
The indictment accuses the five men, all allegedly members of the hip-hop collective Only the Family (OTF) founded by the rapper Lil Durk, of being hired to kill Quando Rondo, 27, whose real name is Tyquian Terrel Bowman. It says a motive for the killing was a belief Rondo was responsible for the shooting death of King Von, whose real name was Dayvon Bennett, in Atlanta back in 2020.
In August 2022, there was an attempt to shoot Rondo and his entourage at a Los Angeles gas station. Rondo managed to get away without injury, but his cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, later died from her injuries. The indictment shows the hitmen’s arrangements-flights and rental cars-were paid for using a credit card from OTF.
The violence between these two camps represents a further gang warfare that occurs among the hip-hop community, and most of all involves rappers from Chicago and those with some ties to the Atlanta rap world. King Von’s killing marked a crescendo towards really escalating those tensions into revenge heinousness, as in the case of Quando Rondo.
King Von was the epicenter in the Chicago rap world of diss tracks and physical fights that made up the ongoing conflict, as his notorious reputation preceded him concerning involvement with street violence. His death has continued to shape dynamics between rival factions, always seeming to create or reignite a motive for revenge or physical conflict. The rationale behind the premeditated hit on Rondo is directly from the animosity stemming from after Von’s death-particularly since Rondo was in attendance during the incident that led to it.
These five suspects now face grave federal charges, bringing them to a legal process that may take longer or shorter, depending on plea negotiations, pre-trial motions, and the case’s complexity.
With the indictment unsealed, legal proceedings have now begun, though some of the specific date details of the trial or further court action remain unannounced. Most likely, these suspects will be represented by legal counsel to navigate this serious judicial landscape.
Recent charges against the artists have put back in the spotlight a deadly, ongoing relationship between gang violence and the hip-hop industry. The incident has been an horrific reminder of how deep-seated rivalries can lead to tragedy, and how artists’ legacies can have ongoing influence within their communities.
