Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk is facing new federal charges after being named in a superseding indictment in connection with a fatal ambush near Los Angeles’ Beverly Center shopping mall two years ago.
The indictment, announced by the Justice Department on Friday, accuses the 32-year-old Chicago rapper, whose real name is Durk Devontay Banks, of conspiring with others to murder a rival rapper, Quando Rondo.
Banks is also charged with:
- one count of conspiracy
- one count of use of interstate facilities to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death
- one count of using, carrying, and discharging firearms and a machine gun and possession of such firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death
Prosecutors said Banks and his associates have had a violent, yearslong feud with Rondo.
The case builds on previous charges and now lists Banks as the lead defendant alongside several associates.
A previous affidavit alleged that Banks put a bounty on Rondo — born Tyquian Terrel Bowman — after a 2020 disagreement with Bowman and his associates resulted in the shooting death of Banks’ friend and collaborator King Von, who was born Dayvon Bennett.
Before the 2022 killing, Banks supplied a credit card to a friend who then bought a hotel room and masks for the five-man hit squad, as well as supplying weapons and vehicles, prosecutors allege.
Banks, who won his first Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance earlier this year, also allegedly tried to cover up his involvement. A message from his iCloud account told the person who booked the flights to L.A. “don’t book flights under no names involved wit me.”
The alleged hit squad was arrested in Chicago in October. They were identified by the DOJ as:
- Kavon London Grant, 28, aka “Cuz” or “Vonnie”
- Deandre Dontrell Wilson, 33, aka “DeDe,” of Chicago
- Keith Jones, 33, aka “Flacka,” of Gary, Indiana
- David Brian Lindsey, 33, aka “Browneyez,” of Addison, Illinois
- Asa Houston, 36, aka “Boogie,” of Chicago
The five defendants are in federal custody in Illinois after their initial court appearances in Chicago. They are charged with:
- count of conspiracy
- one count of use of interstate facilities to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death
- one count of using, carrying and discharging firearms and a machine gun and possession of such firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death.
Jones faces an additional count of possession of a machine gun.
All six defendants – none of whom has yet entered a plea to the charges – are expected to be arraigned in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
According to the superseding indictment, in 2010, Banks formed an organization called Only the Family (OTF), which, among other things, produced and sold hip hop music from artists primarily from the Chicago area. OTF also acted as an association-in-fact of individuals who engaged in violence, including murder and assault, at Banks’ direction and to maintain their status in OTF.
Banks was arrested in October hours before he was trying to leave the country, according to the FBI.
If convicted, all the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
