The Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Durk, real name Durk Devontay Banks, has been apprehended by federal authorities on suspicion of orchestrating a murder plot against a rival from his perch as the head of the Chicago-based rap collective, Only the Family, according to federal prosecutors. The dramatic arrest unfolded on Thursday in proximity to an airport, where Lil Durk was poised to board a flight destined for overseas, detailed in a criminal complaint.
A legal representative tasked with defending the artist did not promptly acknowledge Reuters' request for a comment defending his client's innocence. Lil Durk made his debut appearance in a federal court situated in the Southern District of Florida on Friday, with anticipation of his arraignment in a federal court in Los Angeles within the forthcoming weeks, confirmed a spokesperson from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Central District of California, where the charges have been filed.
Unmasked as Co-Conspirator 1 in an October 17 indictment involving five other defendants accused in relation to a 2022 murder, the 32-year-old Lil Durk is alleged to have targeted a man identified as T.B. for elimination, asserted prosecutors. The five co-defendants discovered T.B.'s whereabouts in Los Angeles, tracked him down, and unleashed a hail of bullets, including fire from a fully automatic weapon, ultimately killing an associate named S.R. instead, according to the indictment.
The grim tale of vendetta stems from a November 2020 clash in an Atlanta nightclub, where an associate of T.B. gunned down another individual, prompting Lil Durk to issue a bounty on T.B.'s life as an act of retribution, outlined in the complaint. This was one of several bounty hunts Lil Durk embarked upon for individuals he deemed worthy of death, as revealed in the indictment.
Lil Durk garnered the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his track "All My Life." On October 18, he unleashed his ninth studio album, as evidenced by his social media postings.
