Rapper Lil Durk Arrested on Murder-For-Hire Charges in Beverly Center Shooting
Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk was taken into custody in Florida on Thursday, charged with orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting another artist, federal officials reported. The 32-year-old, legally known as Durk Devontay Banks, was apprehended near Miami International Airport by U.S. Marshals and remains in custody without bail at Broward County Jail.
Authorities accuse Banks of initiating a deadly scheme against Tyquian Bowman, a Georgia-based rapper known as Quando Rondo. Bowman’s cousin was fatally shot near Los Angeles’ Beverly Center in 2022, reportedly following a failed ambush targeting Bowman. The federal affidavit, filed by FBI Special Agent Sarah Corcoran, suggests that Banks placed a financial bounty on Bowman after a member of Bowman’s group allegedly killed a close friend of Banks: Dayvon Bennett, who performed as King Von and was associated with Banks’ music group, Only The Family (OTF).
According to Corcoran, OTF, a hybrid entity blending music with alleged gang affiliations, had various members and associates involved. Witness testimonies and "open-source reporting" reportedly indicate that in August 2022, over a year after Bennett’s death, Banks’ associates tracked Bowman’s location in Los Angeles. Five individuals allegedly flew from Chicago to San Diego, following instructions sent from Banks’ iCloud account. Messages advised anonymity, with directives like, “Don’t book no flights under no names involved wit me.”
Banks reportedly flew from Miami to Los Angeles in a private jet with associate Kavon Grant, who allegedly used Banks’ credit card to book a room at the Sheraton Universal Hotel. Grant is accused of procuring ski masks and modified firearms for the group, along with renting vehicles with fake license plates. The hit team, in a BMW and an Infiniti, tailed Bowman’s Cadillac Escalade, tracking him to various locations across Los Angeles before confronting him at a gas station near the Beverly Center. There, three masked gunmen allegedly opened fire, killing Bowman’s cousin Saviay’a Robinson while Bowman escaped.
Corcoran’s affidavit describes the hit team as returning to Chicago shortly after the attack. Following arrests of suspected shooters in Chicago, Banks was flagged by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol as having booked flights to Dubai and Switzerland, as well as a private jet to Italy. He was detained by authorities before departure.
The indictment, unsealed Thursday, lists multiple OTF members, including Kavon Grant, Deandre Dontrell Wilson, Keith Jones, David Brian Lindsey, and Asa Houston, as charged in connection with the attempted murder plot.Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk, real name Durk Banks, was arrested for allegedly conspiring in a murder-for-hire plot against rapper Quando Rondo. According to federal sources, Banks is accused of arranging for a hit team to target Rondo in Los Angeles in retaliation for the killing of Banks' friend, King Von.