Where is Quando Rondo now? All you need to know after Lil Durk's not guilty trial verdict
A federal jury reached a verdict in rapper Lil Durk's high-profile murder-for-hire trial on Friday. In August 2022, Lil Durk, whose actual name is Durk Devontay Banks, was accused of planning a murder-for-hire scheme against rapper Quando Rondo.
Quando Rondo had pleaded guilty in 2024 to one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana in a federal drug case. (Quando Rondo | Instagram )While the jury's decision marked a major development in the criminal proceedings against Lil Durk, the attention is on Quando Rondo's whereabouts. The rapper had pleaded guilty in 2024 to one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana in a separate federal drug case.
The case's concluding arguments concluded on Tuesday, September 8. According to Taylor Parise of LA Magazine, the jury at the Los Angeles courthouse on Friday found rapper Lil Durk not guilty on all charges after three days of deliberations.
Quando Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Bowman, was sentenced to 33 months in prison, ordered to pay a $40,000 fine, and began serving his sentence in late 2024.
Bowman had been charged with a more comprehensive conspiracy involving methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana prior to making a plea deal. As part of the plea agreement, that charge, which could have resulted in a 20-year jail sentence, was withdrawn.
After being sentenced, Bowman spent 15 months of his sentence at the Edgefield Federal Correctional Institution. Bowman has now entered community confinement, where inmates gradually transition back into society while completing the remainder of their sentences.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate database cited by Rolling Stone, Bowman has been transferred from the Edgefield Federal Correctional Institution in South Carolina to a residential re-entry centre, commonly known as a halfway house, in Atlanta.
He is scheduled for full release on November 11.
Before his incarceration, Bowman built a following through songs including "I Remember" featuring Lil Baby, "ABG", "Imperfect Flower", and his appearance on YoungBoy Never Broke Again's hit "I Am Who They Say I Am." His latest studio album, Here for a Reason, was released shortly before he reported to prison.
At his sentencing hearing, Bowman apologised to his family and hometown. “I really want to give an apology to the city of Savannah... and most of all my daughters,” he told the court, according to Rolling Stone.
Also read: Who are Lil Durk’s lawyers Brian Steel, Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg, and Christy O’Connor? All you need to know
Although Bowman is not a defendant in Lil Durk's federal case, he remains one of its central figures.
Federal prosecutors alleged that masked gunmen targeted Bowman during a 2022 shooting in Los Angeles. The attack instead claimed the life of his cousin, Robinson. Prosecutors argued the shooting formed the basis of the murder-for-hire charges against Banks.
The rivalry between Lil Durk and Quando Rondo stretches back to the November 2020 killing of Chicago rapper King Von outside an Atlanta nightclub. Von, a close associate of Lil Durk, was fatally shot during an altercation with Bowman's entourage.
Bowman was never charged in Von's death, but the incident intensified tensions between the two camps.
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More
