Rapper Lil Durk arrested in Florida over murder-for-hire conspiracy
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Chicago rapper Lil Durk has been arrested in South Florida and charged with murder for hire, local law enforcement confirmed on 24 October.
The 32-year-old rapper, real name Durk Banks, who was injured on stage at Lolapalooza 2022 and also won a Grammy in February, has ties to the OTF collective (Only the Family) and is currently being held in Broward County Jail with a mugshot being released.
Banks’s arrest is reportedly in conjunction with an extensive federal investigation around a murder conspiracy. He is now awaiting transfer of custody to US Marshals.
His arrest has coincided with the arrest of five other men Kavon London Grant, Deandre Dontrell Wilson, Keith Jones, David Brian Lindsey and Asa Houston, all of who are linked to OTF and were indicted by California federal prosecutors on Thursday.
Those indicted are facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, committing murder-for-hire resulting in death, as well as the use of, carry and discharge of firearms and a machine gun in the furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death, as reported by WGN Chicago.
It is claimed that the murder-for-hire plot was set up to target Georgia-based rapper Quando Rondo, real name Tyquian Terrel Bowman, in retaliation for his suspected involvement with the death of another rapper, King Von, who was shot outside of a nightclub in Atalanta in 2020.
The 26-year-old was one of three men shot and killed outside of the Monaco Hookah Lounge in Atlanta, Georgia, following an altercation in a parking lot, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said at the time.
In a statement, authorities said Bennett and a group of men arrived at the club, where an altercation began after they were approached by two men in the parking lot, around 3:20 in the morning.
“The argument quickly escalated to gunfire between the two groups,” the GBI said, adding that Atlanta police officers, both on-duty and off-duty, who were working nearby, responded and fired shots.
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“During the shooting incident, six men were shot during the group altercation and officer encounter. Bennett and two men died as a result of their injuries, and three were injured and are being treated at a hospital,” the statement said. No officers were injured.
King Von, real name Dayvon Bennett, was the cousin of Lil Durk.
Rondo and his friend Lul Pab were then victims of a fatal shooting at a Los Angeles gas station in August 2022, which claimed the life of Pab.
According to unsealed documents in the US District Court in Los Angeles, OTF members offered out money and music opportunities in exchange for Bowman’s death.
The paperwork also claims that the defendants used a credit card in 2022 to travel to Los Angeles in search of Bowman. It also adds that Kavon London Grant flew to LA to provide guns to fellow conspirators and also rented two vehicles which were used to follow Bowman and his family.
Lil Durk’s representatives have been contacted for comment.
