The moment that got the most laughs in a federal murder-for-hire trial came when a cooperating witness turned a lawyer’s aggressive questioning back on him.
As Brian Steel raised his voice demanding to know why investigators never pressed OTF Jam on his changing answers, OTF Jam shot back, “You mean yell at me like you did?” The courtroom broke up, but the tension only climbed from there.
Day 7 of Lil Durk’s federal trial on Friday, August 28, centered on a five-hour recorded interview in which Kacey “OTF Jam” Hester gave answers that Steel argued contradicted each other at key moments.
Early in that interview, OTF Jam told investigators he had “never, never” spoken with Durk about Quando Rondo before the deadly Los Angeles trip that prosecutors say ended in the killing of Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson.
More than two hours later in the same session, OTF Jam acknowledged that conversations about money being offered for Rondo had in fact occurred.
Steel zeroed in on that gap, asking why investigators never demanded an explanation during the interview itself.
OTF Jam pushed back with a distinction, saying his first answer referred to private, one-on-one conversations with Durk, while later answers described discussions that happened around a group.
“I said personally, one on one,” he told the court, and when Steel asked why the detectives did not press him on the shift, OTF Jam was blunt: “It’s not on me why they didn’t press me. You blame the police. I’m not the police.”
The credibility fight then moved to a separate issue that may have done more damage. Steel presented communications between OTF Jam and Kavon “OTF Vonni” Grant, the man Durk’s defense identifies as the actual organizer of the alleged plot, while both were under a court order prohibiting contact.
OTF Jam had challenged Steel to produce those records, confident they would show no case-related discussions. Steel already had them.
The messages were routed through a woman who communicated separately with both men. In a July 24 call, OTF Jam asked her to tell his “cuz” to have his lawyer remove the separation order, saying “ain’t no type of bad blood.”
By August 3, a message from Vonni confirmed his lawyer would raise the issue with prosecutors, and the same day a call to Vonni carried a warning attributed to OTF Jam about watching who he spoke with.
Steel asked directly why OTF Jam was trying to get closer to the man the defense says arranged flights, destroyed evidence and organized the hunt for Rondo.
OTF Jam’s answer reframed the entire alleged conspiracy. “It’s not his fault, it’s Durk’s fault,” he said. Durk put us in this situation.”
When Steel called Vonni the plot’s organizer, OTF Jam replied, “He wasn’t the mastermind, he was following orders.” OTF Jam also accepted his own role in Robinson’s death, telling the court, “Yeah, I voiced that,” while maintaining the instructions came from Durk.
His explanation for wanting the separation order lifted was that he simply disliked his current facility and wanted a transfer, not that he wanted to be near Vonni.
Jurors now have to decide whether that reads as a reasonable prison preference or as something that cuts against his account of keeping his distance from a co-conspirator.
Steel finished cross-examination Friday morning, and prosecutors moved into redirect to try to shore up their witness before the defense gets another turn.
Durk has pleaded not guilty throughout, with his legal team arguing that Vonni ran the alleged retaliation operation independently, without any order from the rapper.
The prosecution’s case leans heavily on cooperating witnesses, and the weight of that strategy is visible every time Steel finds a seam in OTF Jam’s account. Redirect is underway, and there is still more testimony to come.
