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 costs that he paid for the tried 2022 revenge killing of rapper Quando Rondo at a Los Angeles fuel station, a capturing 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 accordance with an FBI affidavit launched Friday.

5 different members of Durk’s Chicago-based rap collective, “Solely the Household” or “OTF,” have also been arrested and at least two more arrests may be forthcoming, according to court documents that have been filed. Durk was arrested Thursday night in South Florida as he attempted to flee the country, the FBI says.

Durk, whose actual identify is Durk Banks, received a Grammy earlier this yr for Greatest Melodic Rap Efficiency for his track “All My Life,” which featured J. Cole. He has additionally been nominated thrice and was a featured performer on Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later.”

Martin Estrada, the U.S. legal professional for Los Angeles, referred to as the capturing “a cold-blooded murder.”

“The shooting occurred in the open, at a gas station at a busy intersection, endangering many others in the area,” Estrada said in a statement. “Violent gun crime of this sort is devastating to our community and we will have zero-tolerance for those who perpetrate such callous acts of violence.”

FBI Agent Sarah Corcoran stated in her affidavit that OTF members interact “in violence, including murder and assault, at the direction of Banks and to maintain their status in OTF.”

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

In accordance with Corcoran’s affidavit and different federal courtroom data, the capturing stems from the November 2020 slaying of OTF rapper King Von, 26, at an Atlanta nightclub after Von and Rondo bought right into a combat. Data say a good friend of Rondo’s pulled a gun and shot Von a number of instances, 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 identified 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 realized that Rondo was staying at a Los Angeles resort. 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 offered by Durk, Corcoran stated.

That day, Durk allegedly texted an affiliate arranging the flights, “Don’t book no flights under no names involved wit me.” Corcoran stated there’s 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 high OTF affiliate, bought the boys resort rooms, bought 4 ski masks and obtained two luxurious sedans, courtroom data 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 following 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 fuel station throughout the road from the Beverly Middle.

There, Houston allegedly parked his automotive behind the station so Jones, Lindsey and the unnamed defendant might ambush Rondo. They bought out and opened fireplace, killing Robinson, who was standing exterior the Escalade, however lacking Rondo, the indictment and information tales concerning the capturing say.

The suspects then went to an In-N-Out hamburger stand the place they mentioned cost 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 costs. No legal professional info was instantly obtainable for these males in courtroom data.

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 might 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 capturing that left a person wounded within the leg. Prosecutors dropped the case towards 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 avenue. 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 higher moral and ethical standards of behavior,” Thompson wrote on the village’s Fb web page.

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