Rapper Lil Durk charged in murder-for-hire conspiracy : NPR

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Durk has been arrested in Florida on federal expenses that he paid for the tried 2022 revenge killing of rapper Quando Rondo at a Los Angeles gasoline station, a taking pictures that resulted within the dying of Rondo’s cousin.

Durk, 32, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire within the slaying of Saviay’a Robinson, 24, who was gunned down on Aug. 19, 2022, in line with an FBI affidavit launched Friday.

5 different members of Durk’s Chicago-based rap collective, “Solely the Household” or “OTF,” have additionally been arrested and at the least two extra arrests could also be forthcoming, in line with court docket paperwork which were filed. Durk was arrested Thursday evening in South Florida as he tried to flee the nation, the FBI says.

Durk, whose actual identify is Durk Banks, gained a Grammy earlier this 12 months for Finest Melodic Rap Efficiency for his tune “All My Life,” which featured J. Cole. He has additionally been nominated thrice and was a featured performer on Drake’s “Snigger Now Cry Later.”

Martin Estrada, the U.S. lawyer for Los Angeles, known as the taking pictures “a cold-blooded homicide.”

“The taking pictures occurred within the open, at a gasoline station at a busy intersection, endangering many others within the space,” Estrada mentioned in a press release. “Violent gun crime of this type is devastating to our neighborhood and we may have zero-tolerance for individuals who perpetrate such callous acts of violence.”

FBI Agent Sarah Corcoran mentioned in her affidavit that OTF members interact “in violence, together with homicide and assault, on the route of Banks and to take care of their standing in OTF.”

Durk’s representatives didn’t instantly reply to emails Friday looking for remark.

In line with Corcoran’s affidavit and different federal court docket information, the taking pictures stems from the November 2020 slaying of OTF rapper King Von, 26, at an Atlanta nightclub after Von and Rondo obtained right into a struggle. Data say a buddy of Rondo’s pulled a gun and shot Von a number of occasions, killing him. Von, whose actual identify was Dayvon Bennett, had two hit singles, ″Loopy Story″ and “Took Her to the O.”

Authorities say Durk made it recognized that he would “pay a bounty” to anybody who killed Rondo, whose actual identify is Tyquian Bowman.

Nearly two years later, a homicide plot rapidly got here collectively, Corcoran wrote.

On Aug. 18, 2022, Durk’s associates discovered that Rondo was staying at a Los Angeles lodge. That day, Deandre Wilson, Keith Jones, David Lindsey, Asa Houston and a fifth unnamed suspect flew from Chicago to San Diego after which drove to Los Angeles utilizing funds supplied by Durk, Corcoran mentioned.

That day, Durk allegedly texted an affiliate arranging the flights, “Don’t guide no flights beneath no names concerned wit me.” Corcoran mentioned there may be video proof that Durk was staying at a home within the San Fernando Valley that day.

As soon as arriving in Los Angeles, the OTF members met Kayon Grant, who had flown there on a personal jet. Grant, a prime OTF affiliate, obtained the boys lodge rooms, bought 4 ski masks and obtained two luxurious sedans, court docket information say. Grant allegedly gave Jones, Lindsey and a 3rd unnamed suspect weapons, together with one which had been transformed right into a machine gun.

The subsequent day, the group allegedly adopted Rondo and Robinson as they drove a Cadillac Escalade to a Los Angeles marijuana dispensary, a West Hollywood clothes retailer after which a gasoline station throughout the road from the Beverly Middle.

There, Houston allegedly parked his automotive behind the station so Jones, Lindsey and the unnamed defendant may ambush Rondo. They obtained out and opened hearth, killing Robinson, who was standing exterior the Escalade, however lacking Rondo, the indictment and information tales in regards to the taking pictures say.

The suspects then went to an In-N-Out hamburger stand the place they mentioned fee with Grant after which flew house to Chicago from San Diego, Corcoran and different paperwork say. Wilson allegedly later paid Jones and Lindsey an undisclosed quantity.

Grant, Jones, Lindsey, Wilson and Houston have been arrested Thursday in Chicago on conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire expenses. No lawyer info was instantly out there for these males in court docket information.

After their arrests, Corcoran wrote, Durk booked two flights from South Florida airports — one to Dubai and one to Switzerland. He then booked a personal flight to Italy, however was arrested in Miami earlier than he may board it.

Durk and the opposite defendants are being held pending their switch to Los Angeles.

In 2019, Durk and King Von have been charged in Atlanta with a drive-by taking pictures that left a person wounded within the leg. Prosecutors dropped the case in opposition to Durk in 2022, two years after Von’s slaying. Durk had denied his involvement.

In 2014, Durk pleaded responsible to felony aggravated illegal use of a weapon and felony possession of a firearm after he was seen carrying a gun on a Chicago road. He was spared jail time.

Two villages in Chicago’s western suburbs, Bellwood and Broadview, final week honored Durk and introduced collaborations together with his charity, Neighborhood Heroes Basis, to supply youth mentors.

However on Friday, Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson introduced she had severed ties to Neighborhood Heroes and had withdrawn the honorary key to the village given Durk.

Whereas acknowledging that Durk and different suspects are presumed harmless, village residents have “even greater ethical and moral requirements of habits,” Thompson wrote on the village’s Fb web page.

A phone message looking for remark from Andre Harvey, Bellwood’s mayor, was left at his workplace.