Who Are Lil Durk's Co-Conspirators In Rapper's Alleged Murder-For-Hire Plot
Five men allegedly involved in Lil Durk's alleged murder-for-hire-scheme targeting rapper Quando Rondo are also facing federal charges.
Lil Durk, 28, whose legal name is Durk Banks, was arrested in Miami on October 24. Prosecutors accuse the Chicago rapper of placing a monetary hit on Rondo in retaliation for the 2020 killing of rising musician King Von .
His five associates allegedly helped carry out a shooting on August 19, 2022, that did not kill Rondo but took the life of his 24-year-old cousin, Saviay'a Robinson.
Police arrested the following five men associated with Lil Durk's Only The Family (OTF) in Chicago on October 24 in a four-count federal grand jury indictment alleging their roles in the murder-for-hire plot:
Jones faces an additional count of possession of a machine gun.
These defendants made their initial appearances on October 24 in the Northern District of Illinois and are expected to be arraigned in the United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks, according to an October 25 news release from the Central District of California.
If convicted, Lil Durk and the other five defendants each could face up to life in prison.
As of November 4, Grant, Wilson, and Lindsey were all held being at the Winnebago County Jail in Illinois awaiting extradition to Los Angeles. Houston and Jones are in federal custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center Chicago.
Lil Durk is still in federal custody in Miami, Newsweek confirmed.
October 25 court documents show US marshals were ordered to transport Lil Durk from the Broward County Jail in Florida to federal custody in California where he is charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.
Newsweek has contacted the Central District of California for further comment and attorneys for Lil Durk and Houston for comment.
Co-Conspirators' Alleged Roles
Prosecutors allege that the five defendants used two vehicles and worked in tandem to track, stalk, and attempt to murder Rondo at a gas station in Los Angeles.
They claim Lil Durk has a monetary bond on Rondo's life. They say that the hitmen allegedly used credit cards linked to OTF and Lil Durk to book one-way flights from Chicago to San Diego on August 18, 2022, as well as a hotel room at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City, California.
Text messages between Lil Durk and one of the alleged hitmen read, "Don't book no flights under no names involved wit [sic] me," according to the complaint.
Lil Durk also flew to California with Grant on a private plane on August 18.
Later that day, Grant allegedly bought black ski masks for the hitmen to wear during the murder.
Surveillance video allegedly captured Rondo and Robinson riding around town on the day of Robinson's murder in a black Escalade and being followed by a white Infiniti and white BMW allegedly carrying the hitmen.
Jones, Lindsey, and an unidentified third man allegedly opened fire on the Escalade at a gas station, ran back to the Infiniti, and drove away.
About 50 minutes after the shooting, surveillance video from an In-N-Out Burger in Los Angeles captured the co-conspirators at the restaurant.
A few hours later, Jones, Lindsey, Wilson, Houston, and an unidentified co-conspirator boarded a flight from San Diego to Chicago booked with the same credit card linked to OTF and Lil Durk.
The men were arrested in Chicago on October 24. Upon the arrests, the FBI received a tip that Lil Durk had booked two international flights: a one-way flight from Miami to Dubai connecting through Doha, Qatar, scheduled to depart the evening of October 24, and another one-way flight from Fort Lauderdale to Switzerland, connecting through New Jersey, also scheduled to leave that night.
Lil Durk did not board either flight and the FBI learned he was on a private plane departing from Miami to Italy that night. He was arrested at the Miami airport.
Lil Durk's History of Legal Trouble
In a separate lawsuit filed earlier this month, Lil Durk is accused of being a part of the August 2020 gang-related shooting that killed rapper FBG Duck.
FBG Duck, whose real name was Carlton Weekly, was shot in the Gold Coast by a group of masked men as he waited to enter the Dolce & Gabbana store.
In May 2019, Lil Durk released the song "Turn Myself In" before surrendering to police for his alleged connection in a February 2019 shooting.
Lil Durk faced five felony charges: criminal attempt to commit murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and gang activity.