The man convicted of stalking in the Lil Durk case is now leaning on the prosecution’s own witnesses to argue he never targeted the woman who died.
David Lindsey says three cooperating witnesses all named Quando Rondo as the intended target, not Saviay’a Robinson. One of them even admitted he didn’t know what he was firing at.
Through attorney Tillet J. Mills II, Lindsey filed a renewed motion for a judgment of acquittal with the federal judge who presided over Durk’s murder for hire trial. He wants three convictions set aside: conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking using a dangerous weapon, and stalking resulting in death.
If the judge won’t go that far, Lindsey is asking for a new trial instead. He’s also seeking severance, which would split his case off from his codefendants.
The heart of the argument is intent. Lindsey’s lawyers say prosecutors had to prove intent aimed specifically at Robinson, and they claim the evidence never got there.
According to the motion, cooperating witnesses Kavon Grant, Kacey Hester and Keith Jones each testified that the target was Quando Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Bowman. The defense also highlights Hester’s testimony that he did not know what he was firing at.
The filing goes after Counts One and Two as well. Lindsey’s attorneys argue that neither Bowman nor Robinson perceived the alleged course of conduct before the shooting. They also say prosecutors proved presence and association rather than a knowing agreement to join a conspiracy.
The case traces back to Aug. 19, 2022, when Robinson, Quando Rondo’s cousin, was shot and killed at a gas station near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. That shooting became the center of the federal case against Durk and the men around him.
The verdict on Sept. 11 landed in a strange place. Lindsey and Deandre “OTF Dede” Wilson were each convicted on three stalking counts but acquitted of the murder for hire charges. Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, was acquitted of all five charges he faced.
Wilson is pushing for relief too. His attorney, Craig Harbaugh, sounded confident right after the verdict, saying, “We are confident the remaining counts will not survive our pending motion for acquittal.”
There’s another side to weigh here. The jury heard those same cooperating witnesses, including the testimony about Quando Rondo being the target, and still came back with guilty verdicts on the stalking counts. Lindsey’s team now has to convince the judge that the jury got the law wrong, not just the facts.
Durk himself isn’t fully in the clear. His bond hearing is set for Nov. 4, and his separate trial on murder in aid of racketeering and firearms charges has been pushed back to Aug. 30, 2027.
Before any of that plays out, the judge still has to rule on two motions that could unravel what’s left of the government’s win.
