Almost two years after his arrest on murder-for-hire charges, Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Durk is set to face trial in a Los Angeles federal court. Lil Durk, born Durk Banks, is accused of putting a hit on Tyquian Bowman, an Atlanta-area rapper known as Quando Rondo. Banks allegedly traveled with a crew from Chicago to Los Angeles in 2022 with the intention to kill Bowman near the Beverly Center.
The Chicago rapper is accused of putting the bounty on Bowman after an associate of his killed a close friend of Banks, Dayvon "King Von" Bennett, two years earlier at an Atlanta nightclub. The botched ambush at a gas station near the shopping mall resulted in the death of Bowman's cousin, who was traveling with him, according to prosecutors. Banks, 33, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder in aid of racketeering, stalking resulting in death, conspiracy to commit stalking, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death, and discharging a machine gun in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death.
If convicted of all counts, the rapper would face a mandatory life term in federal prison, prosecutors said. Banks was arrested Oct. 17, 2024, near Miami International Airport as he attempted to flee the country, the FBI said. In a superseding 32-page indictment filed in July, Banks is named as the lead defendant and charges three alleged members and associates of his rap collective -- known as Only the Family, or OTF.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. His trial is set to begin Thursday along with two co-defendants.
Attorney's Office alleges that around Aug. 18, 2022, Banks and his conspirators learned that Bowman was staying at a hotel in Los Angeles. The next day, Banks' five friends traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles "for the purpose of murdering" Bowman, prosecutors allege. Members and associates of OTF allegedly used two vehicles and worked in tandem to track, stalk and attempt to murder Bowman at a gas station on Beverly Boulevard, according to court papers.
The alleged co-conspirators fired at least 18 rounds at Bowman's vehicle, striking and killing Bowman's relative who was traveling with the intended target, prosecutors said. Bowman was present during the 2022 shooting that killed his cousin, known as Lul Pab, court papers show. Defense motions to suppress or exclude government evidence have largely been denied by U.S.
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