U.S. prosecutors charged a Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist and his associates with conspiracy to murder a rival rapper, whom he held responsible for his friend’s death. However, the attempt instead resulted in the killing of the rival’s cousin.
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) said that Durk Banks, 32, a.k.a. ‘Lil Durk,’ of Chicago, was charged with placing a bounty on rival rapper Tyquian Bowman, a.k.a ‘Quando Rondo,’ in retaliation for a prior incident in 2020, in which an associate of Bowman shot and killed a close friend of Banks.
Banks and his entourage, collectively known as Only the Family (OTF), traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles to carry out the hit, only for Bowman’s cousin Saviay'a ‘Lul Pabb’ Robinson to be killed in the crossfire.
Also indicted is a menagerie of his fellow OTF members: Kavon Grant, 28, a.k.a. ‘Cuz’; Deandre Wilson, 33, a.k.a. ‘DeDe’; Keith Jones, 33, a.k.a. ‘Flacka’; David Lindsey, 33, a.k.a. ‘Browneyez’; and Asa Houston, 36, a.k.a. ‘Boogie.’
The feud stemmed from a separate murder in November 2020, in which an associate of Bowman shot and killed OTF rapper Dayvon Bennett, a.k.a. ‘King Von,’ at a nightclub in Atlanta, Georgia.
“The suspect was identified as 22-year-old Timothy ‘Lul Tim’ Leeks, a rapper affiliated with Quando Rondo. In August 2023, charges were dropped against Leeks under Georgia's ‘stand-your-ground’ law,” a DOJ Public Information Officer told OCCRP.
After the murder, Banks placed a bounty on Bowman’s life. His OTF caravan was expected to help carry out the hit in order to maintain their status in the organization, according to court documents shared with OCCRP.
The hip-hop cavalcade stalked their target across Los Angeles for hours before cornering him with several vehicles at a gas station near the Beverly Center shopping mall. Together, they opened fire with multiple firearms, including a machine gun, while wearing ski masks to conceal their identities.
Bowman managed to escape, though Robinson was gunned down in the ensuing chaos.
Immediately after the shooting, the gang fled to a nearby hamburger restaurant to discuss payment for the day’s events, court documents said.
Banks then sought to commercialize Robinson’s death in a rap meant for Bowman, in which he sang: “Told me they got an addy (go, go) Got location (go, go) Green light (go, go, go, go, go) Look on the news and see your son, You screamin’, ‘No, no’ (pussy).”
“Mr. Banks is charged with orchestrating a cold-blooded murder that resulted in the death of a rival’s family member,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “Not only that, the shooting occurred in the open, at a gas station at a busy intersection, endangering many others in the area.”
If convicted, each of the OTF defendants face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
