Chicago rapper Lil Durk charged in federal indictment over deadly feud with rival rapper
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 7: Rapper Lil Durk performs during 2024 Dreamville Music Festival at Dorothea Dix Park on April 7, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Prince Williams/FilmMagic)
CHICAGO - Chicago rapper Durk Banks, also known as "Lil Durk," has been charged in a superseding federal grand jury indictment, which alleges he conspired in a murder-for-hire plot targeting a rival rapper.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, this alleged plot led to the fatal shooting of the rival’s family member at a gas station near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles in August 2022.
Banks, 32, faces several charges, including one count of conspiracy, one count of using interstate facilities for murder-for-hire resulting in death and one count of using and discharging firearms, including a machine gun, in a violent crime leading to death.
This superseding indictment adds two felony charges to those he previously faced in a criminal complaint.
The indictment also implicates five additional defendants allegedly connected to the August 2022 killing:
- Kavon London Grant, 28, also known as "Cuz" and "Vonnie," from Atlanta
- Deandre Dontrell Wilson, 33, also known as "DeDe," from Chicago
- Keith Jones, 33, also known as "Flacka," from Gary, Indiana
- David Brian Lindsey, 33, also known as "Browneyez," from Addison, Illinois
- Asa Houston, 36, also known as "Boogie," from Chicago
All six defendants, including Banks, have yet to enter pleas and are expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles in the coming weeks. If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Banks was arrested on Oct. 17 near Miami International Airport as authorities discovered he had booked multiple international flights. He has been ordered held without bond in Miami and will be transferred to Los Angeles for arraignment.
According to court records, Banks formed an organization called Only the Family (OTF) in 2010. While OTF primarily produced and sold hip-hop music from Chicago artists, prosecutors allege that the organization also engaged in violent activities to protect its status and further Banks' directives.
Court documents reveal a long-standing feud between Banks and a rival rapper, identified as "T.B.," stemming from the 2020 killing of Dayvon Bennett, also known as "King Von," an OTF rapper and close friend of Banks. Banks allegedly placed a bounty on T.B. in response to his friend’s death.
In August 2022, members of OTF reportedly spent hours tracking T.B., with multiple shooters allegedly firing at least 18 rounds at his vehicle in Los Angeles.
The gunfire struck and killed "S.R.," a family member of T.B. who was traveling with him.
Records indicate that Banks financed and coordinated the plot, including arranging travel for five alleged hitmen from Chicago to California the day before the shooting.
The indictment also said that Banks and co-defendant Grant traveled to California together on a private jet, with Grant later purchasing ski masks and paying for hotel rooms for the other conspirators using Banks' credit card.
The five co-defendants are currently in federal custody in Illinois following court appearances in Chicago. They face similar charges, including conspiracy and the use of firearms in a violent crime.