Chicago rapper Lil Durk charged with conspiracy to commit murder; Arrested before leaving for Italy

CHICAGO — Well-known Chicago rapper Lil Durk was arrested Thursday night by U.S. marshals in Miami before he could board a private jet bound for Italy — the same day five of his crew were arrested in an alleged murder-for-hire plot organized by Dark. organized

The 32-year-old rapper, whose real name is Durk Devontay Banks, was arrested on murder-for-hire charges and appeared in a Florida court on Friday. The murder-for-hire charges were filed in federal court in Los Angeles as part of a plan to exact revenge on Durk’s friend, the late Chicago rapper King Von, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday.

In the complaint, authorities said Banks booked three international flights after the co-conspirators were arrested Thursday morning: a one-way flight from Miami to Dubai, a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Switzerland and a private flight from Miami to Italy.

The Italian flight was scheduled to depart at 8 p.m. Central time Thursday, but agents caught Banks outside the airport about an hour before takeoff and arrested him, according to the complaint.

The rapper is expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.

Banks allegedly placed a “cash reward” on rapper Quando Rondo in retaliation for Rondo’s accomplice shooting and killing King Von in 2020, according to the complaint. Rondo’s cousin, Saviah Robinson, was killed on Aug. 19, 2022, in the Los Angeles gas station shooting that is at the center of the federal case.

According to the complaint, Rondo survived a barrage of 18 rounds fired at him after Durk’s killers “tracked down” and “chased” his car.

Authorities said the day before the killing, Durk flew on a private jet to California with one of the alleged shooters, with the crew using money linked to Durk and his music label, Only the Family, or OTF, to carry out the attack.

The killer’s flights were paid for using a credit card linked to Banks, despite banks telling the buyer via iCloud messages: “Do not book flights under any names I do not deal with.”

Another indictment, unsealed last week, charges Durk’s alleged co-conspirators — Kavon London Grant, Deandre Dontrell Wilson, Keith Jones, David Brian Lindsay and Asa Huston — with the murder-for-hire conspiracy, which names Banks as a “Community” Conspirator. 1″. The five men were arrested in Chicago on Thursday morning before Durk’s arrest near the Miami airport.

Grant is believed to have purchased ski masks for the shooters who killed Rondo’s cousin and paid for hotel rooms in Los Angeles County using a credit card in Banks’ name, according to the criminal complaint.

Earlier this month, the mother of slain Chicago rapper Carlton Weekly, known as FBG Duck, sued Banks and his record label OTF, claiming that Lil Durk “was the mastermind behind the events that led to FBG Duck being killed on August 4, 2020, while shopping in the Gold Coast.

In January, a federal jury found six men were found guilty of racketeering and conspiracy to kill FBG Duck. Prosecutors alleged the men were gang members in the O Block Black Disciples faction, which acted as revenge for the rapper’s alliance with the Tookaville Gangster Disciples faction, the Sun-Times reported.

Years of diss tracks by FBG Duck and King Von, the alleged leader of the O Block gang, culminated in July 2020 when FBG Duck released “Dead B—-“, a track that mentions deceased members of the O Block gang. according to the Sun-Times.

The criminal complaint, released Friday, also alleges that OTF is a “hybrid organization” that operates as a “musical group and a gang” under Banks’ leadership.

Long a star of the Chicago drill scene, Lil Durk has come a long way in recent years. He was photographed with Mayor Brandon Johnson, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, State Attorney Kim Fox and local aldermen. He was recently invited to join the Chicago Bears on the field for their game in London.

Banks is Johnson’s largest individual donor, giving $150,000 to his campaign in January 2023 through an LLC, according to the accounting of state funding.

Last week, the mayors of the suburbs of Broadway and Bellwood presented the rapper with the keys to their villages in partnership with his District Heroes Fundwhich supports Chicago’s youth by promoting education and violence prevention.

At an unrelated press conference Friday afternoon, Johnson did not say whether he would return Lil Durk’s donation.

“Here’s another example of a young black man growing up in severe trauma that led to life choices he was very open and vocal about.” Johnson told the Tribune. “You’re asking me if I should sentence a black man to a full trial.”

18 years old was killed on Sunday evening in a shooting outside the United Center parking lot minutes before the start of a Lil Durk concert he was about to attend.

As news of Lil Durk’s arrest spread online, “Fucking Durk” trended on social media platform X on Friday morning.

Several accounts referenced his song “Federal Nightmares” from his 2022 album “7220,” in which the rapper recounts the nightmares of appearing in federal court after a friend testifies in a criminal case.

“Delete my iCloud if I think they’re really on me,” Lil Durk sings in the song.