Lil Durk’s lawyers criticize prosecutors’ use of lyrics cited as evidence days before his detention hearing

Lawyers representing Chicago rapper Lil Durk in a murder-for-hire trial criticized federal prosecutors on Thursday, claiming the evidence presented was “missing.”

Lil Durk, whose real name is Durk Banks, was charged with murder-for-hire in a criminal complaint filed Oct. 24 — the same day an indictment was dropped against five other people in the 2022 attack that killed Quando Rondo’s cousin real name is Tyquian Bowman.

In a statement released Thursday, Banks’ lawyers claimed that prosecutors’ use of the song lyrics cited as evidence was a “blatant indication that there was no real evidence” and called them “false and without the most basic due diligence.”

“The real truth is that Durk Banks is a Grammy-winning artist, a dedicated father and a loving husband,” Banks’ lawyers added. “Mr. Banks has been deeply committed to giving back to the Chicago community he loves through his Neighborhood Heroes Foundation and has hosted more than a dozen charitable events in recent years.”

Banks was also charged with additional conspiracy and weapons charges in a supplemental indictment filed last month in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He faces a life sentence. Banks has been held without bail since his arrest on Oct. 24.

Banks pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles last month. A detention hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 12 and a trial date has been set for Jan. 7.

Attorneys said Thursday that Banks looks forward to fighting these false accusations in court.

The superseding indictment states that Banks released a song that “attempted to commercialize” the shooting that targeted Bowman and killed his cousin, Saviay’a Robinson.

The indictment alleges that Banks’ record label, Only the Family, doubled as a violent criminal organization whose members “committed murder and bodily harm at the direction of defendant Banks and maintained their status in the OTF.”

“Banks would offer bounties on people he and other OTF members wanted to kill, including (Bowman),” prosecutors said. “As part of the bounty, known and unknown co-conspirators … would pay anyone involved in the assassination of (Bowman) and/or reward individuals with lucrative music opportunities at OTF.”

Also charged are: Kavon “Cuz” or “Vonnie” Grant; Deandre “DeDe” Wilson; Keith “Flacka” Jones; David “Browneyez” Lindsey; and Asa “Boogie” Houston. All five were arrested in Chicago.

According to federal authorities, the defendants learned that Bowman was staying at a hotel in Los Angeles on August 18, 2022. An unnamed accomplice used credit cards linked to OTF to book flights and a hotel room, although Banks insisted he did not want a paper trail back to him.

“Do not book flights under any name associated with me,” Banks wrote in a text message to the accomplice that day.

Wilson, Jones, Lindsey, Houston and an unnamed co-conspirator flew from Chicago to Los Angeles, prosecutors said. Banks and Grant traveled there separately on a private jet “to help coordinate the murder.”

Banks later used “coded language” to make it clear “that he would pay a bounty or cash reward to those involved in the shooting,” prosecutors said.

The plot was hatched in retaliation for the murder of King Von, a Chicago rapper who was Banks’ protégé. King Von, whose real name is Dayvon Bennett, was shot and killed on November 6, 2020, during an altercation with Bowman and his crew outside an Atlanta hookah lounge.

Lawyers representing banks did not immediately respond to a request for details.