Grammy-winning rapper Lil Dirk charged with murder-for-hire conspiracy

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Dirk has been arrested in Florida on federal charges he paid to try to avenge the 2022 killing of rapper Kwando Rondo at a Los Angeles gas station, a shooting that left Rondo dead. cousin

Darke, 32, is charged with conspiracy to kill Savia Robinson, 24, who was shot and killed on Aug. 19, 2022, according to an FBI affidavit released Friday.

Five other members of Dirk's Chicago-based rap collective, “Only The Family,” or “OTF,” were also arrested, and at least two more may be arrested, according to court documents. Durk was arrested Thursday night in South Florida as he tried to flee the country, the FBI says.

Dirk, whose real name is Dirk Banks, won a Grammy earlier this year for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his song “All My Life,” which featured J. It was lap He has been nominated three times and was a featured performer on Drake's “Laugh Now Cry Later.”

Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada called the shooting “a cold-blooded murder.”

“There was an open-air shooting at a gas station at a busy intersection, endangering many others in the area,” Estrada said in a statement. Violent gun crime like this is devastating to our communities and we will have zero-tolerance. For those who commit such brutal acts of violence.”

FBI Agent Sarah Corcoran said in her affidavit that OTF members “engaged in violence, including murder and assault, at the behest of the bank and to maintain their status in the OTF.”

Representatives for Dork did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Friday.

According to Corcoran's affidavit and other federal court records, the shooting followed the November 2020 slaying of OTF rapper King Vaughn, 26, in a fight between Vaughn and Rondo at an Atlanta nightclub. Records say one of Rondo's friends pulled a gun and shot Vaughn several times, killing him. Vaughn, whose real name was Devon Bennett, had two hit singles, “Crazy Story” and “Took Her to the O.”

Authorities said Darke made it known that he would “make a donation” to whoever killed Rondo, whose real name is Tykean Bowman.

About two years later, an assassination plot quickly came together, Corcoran wrote.

On August 18, 2022, Dirk's associates learned that Rondo was staying at a hotel in Los Angeles. That day, DeAndre Wilson, Keith Jones, David Lindsey, Asa Houston and a fifth unnamed suspect flew from Chicago to San Diego and then drove to Los Angeles using funds provided by Dirk, Corcoran said.

That day, Dirk allegedly texted an associate arranging the flights, “Do not book any flights under any name associated with me.” Corcoran said there is video evidence that Dirk was staying at a home in the San Fernando Valley that day.

Once in Los Angeles, the OTF members met up with Keon Grant, who had flown there on a private jet. Grant, a top OTF associate, got the men hotel rooms, bought four ski masks and got two luxury sedans, court records say. Grant Jones, Lindsey and a third unidentified suspect allegedly gave the gun, one of which was converted to a machine gun.

The next day, the group followed Rondo and Robinson as they drove a Cadillac Escalade to a Los Angeles marijuana dispensary, a West Hollywood clothing store, and then a gas station across the street from Beverly Center.

There, Houston allegedly parked his car behind the station so Jones, Lindsay and the unnamed defendant could attack Rondo. They got out and opened fire, killing Robinson, who was standing outside the Escalade, but missing Rondo, the complaint and shooting reports said.

The suspects then went to an In-N-Out hamburger stand where they discussed payment with Grant and then flew home from San Diego to Chicago, Corcoran and other documents say. Wilson later allegedly made undisclosed payments to Jones and Lindsey.

Grant, Jones, Lindsey, Wilson and Houston were arrested Thursday in Chicago in a murder-for-hire conspiracy. No attorney information for those men was immediately available in court records.

After their arrests, Corcoran wrote, Darke booked two flights from a South Florida airport — one to Dubai and one to Switzerland. He then booked a private flight to Italy, but was arrested in Miami before boarding.

Dirk and the other defendants are being held awaiting transfer to Los Angeles.

In 2019, Dirk and King Vaughn were charged with a drive-by shooting in Atlanta that left a man injured in the leg. Prosecutors dropped the case against Durk in 2022, two years after Vaughan's murder. Dirk denied his involvement.

In 2014, Dirk pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon and felony possession of a firearm after he was seen carrying a gun on a Chicago street. He was spared from jail.

Two villages in Chicago's west suburbs, Bellwood and Broadview, honored Dirk last week and announced a partnership with his charity, the Neighborhood Heroes Foundation, to provide youth mentors.

But on Friday, Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson announced she was severing ties with Neighborhood Heroes and taking away the honorary keys to the village given to Durk.

While admitting the innocence of Dork and the other suspects, village residents “have an even higher moral and ethical standard of conduct,” Thompson wrote on the village's Facebook page.

A telephone message seeking comment from Bellwood Mayor Andre Harvey was left at his office.