Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Durk was arrested in Florida on federal charges of paying for the 2022 attempted revenge killing of rapper Quando Rondo at a Los Angeles gas station, a shooting that resulted in the cousin’s death. . of Rondo.
Durk, 32, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire in the death of Saviay’a Robinson, 24, who was shot and killed on Aug. 19, 2022, according to an FBI affidavit released Friday.
Advertisement
Five other members of Durk’s Chicago-based rap collective, “Only the Family” and “OTF,” were also detained and at least two more arrests are possible, according to court documents filed. Durk was arrested Thursday night in South Florida while trying to flee the country, according to the FBI.
Durk, whose real name is Durk Banks, won a Grammy earlier this year for best melodic rap performance for his song “All My Life,” which featured J. Cole. He has also been nominated three times and was featured on Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later.”
FBI agent Sarah Corcoran said in her affidavit that OTF members engage “in violent acts, including homicides and assaults, at the direction of Banks and to maintain their status in the OTF.”
Representatives for Durk did not immediately respond to emails sent Friday seeking comment.
According to Corcoran’s affidavit and other federal court records, the shooting stems from the November 2020 death of OTF rapper King Von, 26, at an Atlanta nightclub after Von and Rondo met. They would get into a fight. Records say a friend of Rondo pulled out a gun and shot Von several 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 that he would “pay a reward” to whoever killed Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Bowman.
On August 18, 2022, Durk’s associates learned that Rondo was staying at a hotel in Los Angeles. That day, Deandre Wilson, Keith Jones, David Lindsey, Asa Houston and a fifth unnamed suspect flew from Chicago to San Diego and then drove to Los Angeles using funds provided by Durk, according to Corcoran.
That day, Durk allegedly texted an associate arranging the flights: “Do not book any flights under any name involved with me.” Corcoran said there is video evidence that Durk stayed at a home in the San Fernando Valley that day.
Once they arrived in Los Angeles, the OTF members met with Kayon Grant, who had flown there on a private jet. Grant, a top member of the OTF, got the men hotel rooms, bought them four ski masks and got them two luxury sedans, court records say. Grant allegedly gave weapons to Jones, Lindsey and a third unnamed suspect, including one that had been converted into a fully automatic 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 from the Beverly Center.
There, Houston parked his car behind the gas so Jones, Lindsey, and the unnamed defendant could ambush Rondo. They emerged and opened fire, killing Robinson, who was standing outside the Escalade, but missing Rondo, the indictment and news reports about the shooting say.
The suspects then went to an In-N-Out burger stand where they discussed payment with Grant and then flew home to Chicago from San Diego, Corcoran and other documents say. Wilson allegedly later paid Jones and Lindsey an undisclosed amount.
Grant, Jones Lindsey, Wilson and Houston were arrested Thursday in Chicago on charges of conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Information about the men’s attorneys was not immediately available in court records.
After their arrests, Corcoran wrote, Durk booked two flights from South Florida airports: one to Dubai and one to Switzerland. After he booked a private flight to Italy, but was detained in Miami before he could board that flight. Durk and the other defendants are detained pending transfer to Los Angeles.