Rapper Lil Durk was charged with revenge killing in 2022

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Grammy-winning rapper Lil Durk has been arrested in Florida on federal charges that he paid for the attempted revenge murder of rapper Quando Rondo in a 2022 shooting at a Los Angeles gas station , which led to the death of Rondo's cousin.

According to an FBI affidavit released Friday, 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 August 19, 2022.

Five other members of Durk's Chicago-based rap collective Only the Family, or OTF, were also arrested, and at least two more arrests could be imminent, according to filed court documents. According to the FBI, Durk was arrested Thursday evening in South Florida as he attempted to flee the country.

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 was also nominated three times and was a featured performer in Drake's “Laugh Now Cry Later.”

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

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

According to Corcoran's affidavit and other federal court filings, the shooting stems from the November 2020 killing of OTF rapper King Von, 26, at an Atlanta nightclub after Von and Rondo got into an argument. Records show 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 announced he would pay “a bounty” to anyone who killed Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Bowman.

Almost two years later, an assassination attempt quickly emerged, Corcoran wrote.

On August 18, 2022, Durk's employees 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, Corcoran said.

That day, Durk allegedly texted an employee arranging the flights: “Do not book flights under any name associated with me.” Corcoran said there was video evidence that Durk was at a house that day lived in the San Fernando Valley.

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, the OTF members met Kayon Grant, who had flown there on a private jet. According to court documents, Grant, a top OTF official, found hotel rooms for the men, bought them four ski masks and two luxury sedans. Grant allegedly gave Jones, Lindsey and a third unnamed suspect weapons, 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 marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles, a clothing store in West Hollywood and then to a gas station across from the Beverly Center.

There, Houston parked his car behind the train station so that Jones, Lindsey and the unnamed defendant could ambush Rondo. They got out and opened fire, killing Robinson, who was standing in front of the Escalade, but missing Rondo, according to the indictment and news reports about the shooting.

The suspects then went to an In-N-Out hamburger stand, where they discussed payment with Grant and then flew back to Chicago from San Diego, Corcoran and other documents say. Wilson later allegedly 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. No attorney information for these men was immediately available in court records.

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

Durk and the other defendants are being held until they are transferred to Los Angeles.