Grammy-winning Chicago rapper Lil Durk has been charged in a murder-for-hire plot and is now in custody. The FBI said he was arrested Thursday night in South Florida as he attempted to flee the country.
Lil Durk — the stage name of Durk Banks of Chicago — was arrested in Florida Thursday night. Investigators believe he allegedly targeted rapper Quando Rondo's cousin, 24-year-old Saviay'a Robinson, who was killed in 2022.
The arrest came hours after five people associated with his music business were also accused in the case. Those 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 forthcoming, according to court documents that have been filed.
Investigators believe it was retaliation for the earlier murder of Chicago rapper King Von, who was killed during an early morning exchange of gunfire outside the Monaco Hookah Lounge in Atlanta, authorities said.
FBI Agent Sarah Corcoran said in her affidavit that OTF members engage "in violence, including murder and assault, at the direction of Banks and to maintain their status in OTF."
According to Corcoran's affidavit and other federal court records, the shooting stems from the November 2020 slaying of OTF rapper King Von, 26, at an Atlanta nightclub after Von and Rondo got into a fight. Records say a friend of Rondo's pulled 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 bounty" to anyone who killed Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Bowman.
Almost two years later, a murder plot quickly came together, Corcoran wrote.
Banks received the 2024 Grammy award for best melodic rap performance for his single "All My Life" featuring J. Cole, which triumphed over such musical celebrities as Drake, SZA and Doja Cat. He has also been nominated for a Grammy three other times.
Durk had recently been honored by two villages in Chicago's western suburbs as they announced their collaboration with his charity, Neighborhood Heroes Foundation.
"This partnership and collaboration will bring resources and mentoring opportunities to the youth in our community," Andre Harvey, mayor of Bellwood, 14 miles west of Chicago, said on the village's Facebook page last week.
But on Friday, Katrina Thompson, the mayor of nearby Broadview, announced she had severed ties to Neighborhood Heroes and had withdrawn the honorary key to the village given Durk.
While acknowledging that Durk and other suspects are presumed innocent, village residents have "even higher moral and ethical standards of behavior. And our public partners must also reflect the same uncompromising standards," Thompson wrote on the village's Facebook page.
"As mayor, protecting Broadview's interests and upholding the values of residents is job number one."
A telephone message seeking comment from Harvey, Bellwood's mayor, was left at his office. Durk's representatives did not immediately respond to emails Friday seeking comment.
