Rap superstar Lil Durk moved Friday to have his murder-for-hire case tossed out, arguing that prosecutors misled a grand jury when they tied the killing to his lyrics.<\/p>\n
Attorneys for Lil Durk, real name Durk Banks, said the case hinges on a \u201cfundamental factual error\u201d \u2014 that Durk recorded a song mocking rival rapper Quando Rondo about the attack in Los Angeles in August 2022. In fact, Durk\u2019s lawyers wrote in a court filing, the song had been recorded seven months before masked gunman targeted Quando Rondo, or Tyquian Bowman, in an attack that left Rondo\u2019s cousin dead.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors argued in court that even if the lyrics were written seven months before the shooting, the song was modified to include audio from TV news footage of Quando Rondo crying out \u201cNo, no!\u201d for his cousin, Saviay\u2019a Robinson, on top of the original song. However, Durk\u2019s lawyers claim the version of the song cited in court was not authentic.<\/p>\n
Durk\u2019s lawyers argued that prosecutors cited versions of the song that were posted on YouTube, and were not connected to Durk. \u201cThe issue over the timing of Mr. Banks\u2019 recording of the lyrical verse in question is not one of frivolous or inconsequential value,\u201d his attorneys said, claiming that prosecutors\u2019 \u201cmisrepresentation\u201d of the song was vital to their case against Durk.<\/p>\n
Durk\u2019s legal team requested that U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue order the release of grand jury records if she denies the motion to dismiss the charges.<\/p>\n
Durk was initially charged with a murder-for-hire conspiracy on Oct. 24, 2024, \u2014 the same day an indictment was unsealed charging five others in the attack that killed Robinson. He was arrested in Florida that same day as he prepared to board a private jet to Italy \u2014 one of three international flights he had reportedly booked.<\/p>\n
Additional conspiracy and gun charges were filed against him Nov. 7 in a superseding indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He faces up to life in prison.<\/p>\n
Also charged are: Kavon \u201cCuz\u201d or \u201cVonnie\u201d Grant; Deandre \u201cDeDe\u201d Wilson; Keith \u201cFlacka\u201d Jones; David \u201cBrowneyez\u201d Lindsey; and Asa \u201cBoogie\u201d Houston. All five were arrested in Chicago.<\/p>\n
According to federal prosecutors, the defendants learned that Quando Rondo was staying at a Los Angeles hotel on Aug. 18, 2022. An unnamed accomplice allegedly used credit cards linked to Only the Family \u2014 Durk\u2019s record label \u2014to book flights and hotel accommodations, despite Durk reportedly warning against leaving a trail. \u201cDon\u2019t book no flights under no names involved wit me,\u201d Durk allegedly texted the accomplice that day.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said Wilson, Jones, Lindsey, Houston and an unnamed co-conspirator flew from Chicago to Los Angeles, while Durk and another defendant, Grant, traveled separately via private jet to \u201chelp coordinate the murder.\u201d Authorities allege Banks later used coded language to make it clear he intended to pay a bounty or financial reward to those who carried out the shooting. The plot was reportedly in retaliation for the killing of King Von, a rising Chicago rapper and close associate of Durk. King Von, born Dayvon Bennett, was shot and killed outside a hookah lounge in Atlanta on Nov. 6, 2020, during a confrontation with Rondo and his entourage.<\/p>\n
The case against Lil Durk is complex and hinges on the interpretation of his lyrics and the timing of their recording. The outcome of the case will depend on the court’s decision on the motion to dismiss and the release of grand jury records.<\/p>\n
Q: What is Lil Durk charged with?
\nA: Lil Durk is charged with murder-for-hire conspiracy, conspiracy, and gun charges.
\nQ: What is the basis of Durk’s defense?
\nA: Durk’s defense is based on the claim that prosecutors misled the grand jury by tying the killing to his lyrics, which were recorded seven months before the attack.
\nQ: Who are the co-defendants in the case?
\nA: The co-defendants are Kavon \u201cCuz\u201d or \u201cVonnie\u201d Grant, Deandre \u201cDeDe\u201d Wilson, Keith \u201cFlacka\u201d Jones, David \u201cBrowneyez\u201d Lindsey, and Asa \u201cBoogie\u201d Houston.
\nQ: What is the motive behind the alleged plot?
\nA: The alleged plot was reportedly in retaliation for the killing of King Von, a rising Chicago rapper and close associate of Durk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to the Case Rap superstar Lil Durk moved Friday to have his murder-for-hire case tossed out, arguing that prosecutors misled a grand jury when they tied the killing to his lyrics. Background of the Case Attorneys for Lil Durk, real name Durk Banks, said the case hinges on a \u201cfundamental factual error\u201d \u2014 that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18966","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-reports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/4abcc21\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3000x1713+0+144\/resize\/1461x834!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F97%2F17%2F5d38ffba4125be3c3a2a184d15a9%2Fsmashfestsun-082221-29.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18966"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18966"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18968,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18966\/revisions\/18968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}