Rapper Lil Durk pleads not guilty to murder-for-hire charges

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Durk pleaded not guilty Thursday in downtown Los Angeles to federal charges stemming from an alleged murder-for-hire conspiracy near the Beverly Center two years ago.

The 32-year-old Chicago rapper, whose real name is Durk Banks, entered his plea to federal charges of conspiracy, use of interstate facilities to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death, and using, carrying, and discharging firearms and a machine gun and possession of such firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue ordered Banks jailed without bond, pending a detention hearing on Dec. 12. A status conference was also set for Nov. 25 before the federal judge that will be overseeing the case. A tentative trial date of Jan. 7 was also scheduled but is expected to be postponed.

Banks is being held at the federal lockup downtown.

The rapper was arrested on Oct. 17 near Miami International Airport after law enforcement learned that he had been booked on multiple international flights.

An updated indictment filed in Los Angeles federal court names Banks as the lead defendant in a case that also charges five alleged members and associates of his rap collective -- known as Only the Family, or OTF.

Banks is accused of putting a bounty on the life of Tyquian Bowman, a Georgia rapper known as Quando Rondo. The alleged hit team of OTF members traveled from Chicago to kill Bowman, but a botched ambush near the Beverly Center shopping mall resulted in the death of one of Bowman's relatives who was traveling with him, according to the DOJ.

The remaining five defendants are expected to be arraigned in federal court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks.

Prosecutors contend that Banks put the bounty on Bowman after an associate of Bowman killed a close friend of Banks' two years earlier at a nightclub in Atlanta, Georgia.

Around Aug. 18, 2022, the alleged 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, federal prosecutors allege.

Members and associates of OTF allegedly used two vehicles and worked in tandem to track, stalk and attempt to murder Bowman at the gas station, according to court papers.

The co-conspirators fired at least 18 rounds at Bowman's vehicle, striking and killing one of Bowman's family members who was traveling with the intended target, the DOJ alleges.

The 19-page superseding indictment charges Banks and five others -- Kavon London Grant, Deandre Dontrell Wilson, Keith Jones, David Brian Lindsey and Asa Houston -- with crimes arising from the murder, including murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire resulting in death.

Federal prosecutors contend that Banks ordered Bowman's murder and ultimately paid for the alleged co-conspirators to travel from Chicago to Los Angeles on the day before the killing. Around the time that the flights were purchased, records show that a phone number associated with Banks texted a co-conspirator: Don't book no flights under no names involved wit (sic) me,'' according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint.

The affidavit says Banks flew on a private jet from Miami to Los Angeles with Grant. Grant used Banks' credit card to book a room at the Sheraton Universal Hotel, where the five-man alleged hit team stayed the night before they tracked down Bowman, according to the affidavit, which contends Grant purchased ski masks for the shooters to use to commit the murder.

Banks, meanwhile, stayed at a rented home in Encino, the document says.

The rapper won a Grammy earlier this year for best melodic rap performance. His albums "The Voice" and "7220" both sold more than 1 million copies each. A new Lil Durk album, his ninth studio album, is scheduled to be released on Nov. 22.

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