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Rapper Lil Durk accused of orchestrating 2022 Los Angeles murder – NBC New York
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Rapper Lil Durk accused of orchestrating 2022 Los Angeles murder – NBC New York

Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Durk has been arrested in Florida on charges of paying for rapper Quando Rondo’s 2022 revenge attempt at a Los Angeles gas station, a shooting that resulted in the death of Rondo’s cousin Rondo.

Durk, 32, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire in the killing of Saviay’a Robinson, 24, who was shot and killed on Aug. 19, 2022, according to an FBI affidavit released Friday.

Five other members of Durk’s Chicago-based rap collective, “Only the Family” or “OTF,” have also been arrested and at least two more arrests may be imminent, according to court filings. Durk was arrested Thursday evening in South Florida while trying to flee the country, according to the FBI.

Durk, real name Durk Banks, won a Grammy earlier this year for best melodic rap performance for his song “All My Life,” featuring J. Cole. He was also nominated three times and was a featured artist on Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later.”

Martin Estrada, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, called the shooting a “cold-blooded murder.”

“The shooting occurred outdoors, at a gas station located at a busy intersection, endangering many people in the neighborhood,” Estrada said in a statement. “Violent gun crimes like this are devastating to our community and we will have zero tolerance for those who commit such callous acts of violence.

FBI agent Sarah Corcoran said in her affidavit that OTF members engaged “in acts of violence, including murder and assault, at the direction of Banks and to maintain their status within the organization.” ‘OTF’.

Representatives for Durk did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Friday.

According to Corcoran’s affidavit and other federal court records, the shooting stemmed from the November 2020 killing of OTF rapper King Von, 26, at an Atlanta nightclub after Von and Rondo got into a fight. Records say a friend of Rondo pulled out a gun and shot Von multiple times, killing him. Von, whose real name was Dayvon Bennett, had two hit singles, “Crazy Story” and “Took Her to the O.”

Authorities say Durk made it known he would “pay a bounty” to anyone who killed Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Bowman.

Nearly two years later, a murder plot quickly took shape, Corcoran wrote.

On August 18, 2022, Durk’s associates learned that Rondo was staying at a Los Angeles hotel. That day, Deandre Wilson, Keith Jones, David Lindsey, Asa Houston and a fifth unnamed suspect flew from Chicago to San Diego, then traveled to Los Angeles using funds provided by Durk, Corcoran said .

That day, Durk allegedly texted an associate who was arranging the flights: “Do not book flights under any name involved with me.” » Corcoran said there is video evidence showing Durk was staying at a home in the San Fernando Valley that day.

Once in Los Angeles, the OTF members met with Kayon Grant, who had traveled there by private jet. Grant, one of FTO’s top associates, obtained hotel rooms for the men, purchased four ski masks and obtained two luxury sedans, according to court records. Grant allegedly gave Jones, Lindsey and a third unnamed suspect firearms, including one that had been converted into a machine gun.

The next day, the group allegedly followed Rondo and Robinson as they drove a Cadillac Escalade to a Los Angeles marijuana dispensary, a West Hollywood clothing store, and then a gas station across the street from the Beverly Center.

There, Houston allegedly parked his car behind the station so Jones, Lindsey and the unnamed defendant could ambush Rondo. They got out and opened fire, killing Robinson, who was standing outside the Escalade, but missing Rondo, according to the indictment and information about the shooting.

The suspects then went to an In-N-Out hamburger stand where they discussed payment with Grant, then returned home to Chicago from San Diego, according to Corcoran and other documents. Wilson then allegedly paid Jones and Lindsey an undisclosed amount.

Grant, Jones, Lindsey, Wilson and Houston were arrested Thursday in Chicago on conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire charges. No attorney information was immediately available for the men in court records.

After their arrests, Corcoran wrote, Durk booked two flights from South Florida airports – one to Dubai and one to Switzerland. He then booked a private flight to Italy, but was arrested in Miami before he could board.

Durk and the other defendants are being held pending transfer to Los Angeles.

In 2019, Durk and King Von were charged in Atlanta for a drive-by shooting that left a man injured in the leg. Prosecutors dropped charges against Durk in 2022, two years after Von’s murder. Durk had denied his involvement.

In 2014, Durk pleaded guilty to felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm after he was seen carrying a gun on a Chicago street. He escaped prison.

Two villages in Chicago’s western suburbs, Bellwood and Broadview, honored Durk last week and announced collaborations with his charity, Neighborhood Heroes Foundation, to provide mentors to young people.

But on Friday, Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson announced she had severed ties with Neighborhood Heroes and removed the honorary key to the village given to Durk.

While recognizing that Durk and the other suspects are presumed innocent, village residents have “even higher moral and ethical standards of behavior,” Thompson wrote on the village’s Facebook page.

A phone message seeking comment from Andre Harvey, Bellwood’s mayor, was left at his office.

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AP Writer John O’Connor in Chicago contributed to this report.