Lil Durk’s federal murder-for-hire trial took a major turn after former OTF affiliate Kacey “OTF Jam” Hester testified that the Chicago rapper allegedly helped orchestrate the 2022 plot targeting Quando Rondo.

Hester took the stand Wednesday, August 26, and described what he claims happened in the days leading up to the Los Angeles shooting that killed Quando Rondo’s cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson.

Durk has pleaded not guilty and denies ordering or financing the attack.

According to Hester, Durk was struggling with the public reaction following the November 2020 death of his close friend and OTF artist King Von.

“He didn’t like that people were trolling him,” Hester testified. “It was getting to him.”

Hester testified that an alleged conversation about retaliation took place at a recording studio in Atlanta.

According to his testimony, Durk allegedly said anyone who caught Quando Rondo or Timothy “Lul Timm” Leeks would be taken care of afterward.

Lul Timm was involved in the November 2020 altercation outside an Atlanta hookah lounge that resulted in King Von’s death.

Prosecutors have argued that the 2022 attack targeting Quando was revenge for Von’s killing. Durk’s defense disputes that claim and has argued that the government is wrongly portraying him as the person behind the plot.

Hester also described traveling to California around the time of the attack.

He testified that OTF Boonie Moe contacted him on the morning of August 18, 2022, and arrangements were made for him to fly to San Diego with Asa “OTF Boogie” Houston.

Hester claimed Durk was on another phone during part of the conversation but did not initially explain what the trip was about.

“You could tell there was something going on,” Hester testified.

Once he arrived in California, Hester alleges he learned that the group’s goal was to kill Quando Rondo.

He told jurors he felt trapped by that point, saying he had already traveled across the country and did not know how to back out.

Hester testified that members of the group bought hoodies and gloves before allegedly receiving firearms and tracking Quando’s movements.

According to prosecutors, surveillance footage shows Quando being followed in Los Angeles before the shooting.

Hester claimed the group initially waited outside the Level Hotel and planned to attack Quando when he came outside.

That alleged attempt was abandoned because police activity nearby made the situation too risky.

The following day, August 19, 2022, gunfire erupted outside a gas station near Beverly Boulevard.

Quando Rondo survived, but his cousin Lul Pab was fatally shot.

Hester admitted his own participation in the attack while testifying and identified Durk and two co-defendants as people he says were involved in the alleged plot.

Hester also gave jurors extensive background on his relationship with Durk.

He said they first met as teenagers and became closer while Hester was incarcerated.

According to Hester, Durk helped him financially while he was in prison, including contributing money toward his attorney and putting funds on his books.

“People forget about you in prison,” Hester told the court, adding that Durk did not abandon him.

Hester also discussed his own gang history, telling jurors that he became affiliated with the Black Disciples at a young age.

Prosecutors have portrayed OTF as more than a music collective, describing it as part of a criminal enterprise. Durk’s attorneys have pushed back against attempts to equate the record label and its artists with gang activity.

Hester is cooperating with federal prosecutors, making his credibility a major battleground in the case.

Durk’s legal team has already questioned how investigators handled Hester’s statements.

An LAPD detective testified that Hester was interviewed approximately 30 times during the investigation, while only a small number of those interviews were recorded.

Defense attorneys have used that discrepancy to suggest jurors should be cautious when evaluating how Hester’s version of events developed over time.

Durk’s defense has also argued that another former OTF associate, Kavon Grant, played the central role in organizing the shooting rather than Durk himself.

The testimony represents some of the most direct evidence prosecutors have presented against Durk so far, but Hester’s allegations have not been proven.

Durk has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges and maintains that he did not order the killing.

If convicted, the Grammy-winning rapper could face life in prison.

With multiple cooperating witnesses expected to testify, the government’s case is now moving deeper into what prosecutors say happened behind the scenes before Lul Pab was killed.