New counts have been added to Lil Durk’s murder-for-hire case.
The federal prosecution has morphed into a broader case that now accuses the Grammy-winning rapper and his co-defendants of murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit stalking.
The latest indictment, filed on Thursday, introduces a new allegation involving the 27 January 2022 killing of a “rival gang member” in Chicago. It accuses the All My Life rapper, born Durk Banks, of acting as the leader of a menacing Chicago street gang and offering a reward that led to the killing.
According to the filing, obtained by Rolling Stone, Banks allegedly brought $1 million (£740,000) in cash to a music studio after the purported hit, and an alleged co-conspirator later posted a photo on social media showing off “his monetary reward”.
The new indictment reaches back further, accusing Banks of taking part in an attempted murder in Atlanta in February 2019, which was motivated by a dispute over the purchase of a stolen car.
Banks has pleaded not guilty to his prior indictments. He denies claims that he used “coded language” to hire a group of alleged hitmen to travel to Los Angeles and carry out an execution-style killing in broad daylight on 19 August 2022. Federal prosecutors say the intended target was Tyquian Terrel Bowman, the rapper known as Quando Rondo, whom Banks allegedly blamed for the 2020 shooting death of his friend and protégé, Dayvon ‘King Von’ Bennett.
“This indictment is lipstick on a pig,” Banks’ lawyers responded in a statement shared with Rolling Stone late Thursday, describing the new allegations as a last-ditch effort.
Banks is in a relationship with longtime girlfriend and partner, India Royale. The couple, who have been together since 2017, share a daughter, Willow, who was born in 2018.
