Chicago rapper Lil Durk linked to murder of alleged gang leader Stephon Mack in unsealed indictment

Chicago rapper Lil Durk has been linked to the murder of alleged gang leader Stephon Mack, according to newly released court documents.

Lil Durk, whose real name is Durk Devontay Banks, has been charged with orchestrating the fatal shooting in 2022, according to an April 2023 warrant released Wednesday. This is reported by the Chicago Times.

Mack, 24, who was believed to be the leader of the Smashville faction of “Gangster Disciples,” was shot in January of that year in Illinois as he left the Youth Peace Center of Roseland on West 111th Street.

Durk was allegedly involved in Mack’s death as part of an alleged revenge plot following the death of his brother Dontay Banks, whose murder was carried out by a faction of “Gangster Disciples” tied to Smashville, the arrest warrant application showed .

Dontay, who also went by DThang, was killed outside Club O in Chicago in June 2021 after suffering a gunshot wound to the head.

“Lil Durk was and continues to offer money to people to kill those responsible for his brother’s murder, and more specifically, he is offering to pay money for any gangster disciple who is killed,” a federal agent wrote in the application for a warrant, reviewed by the outlet. .

The Grammy Award-winning rapper, 32, is currently charged with murder-for-hire in Los Angeles after he was arrested in October for allegedly paying five associates from his South Side rap group, Only The Family (OTF), to kill Quando Rondo. born Terrell Bowman in August 2022.

While Bowman and his sister were unharmed after the shooting at a West Hollywood gas station, his 24-year-old cousin Saviay’a Robinson suffered several gunshot wounds and died as a result.

Durk has not been charged in connection with the new allegations. Law enforcement sources told the Chicago Tribune that the investigation remains open in Chicago.

The filing was released a day before Durk’s detention hearing for his murder-for-hire case.

A year after Mack was shot, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago announced charges against Anthony Montgomery-Wilson, 24, and Preston Powell, 23.

The pair were charged with conspiracy to use an interstate facility in the commission of murder-for-hire and individual murder-for-hire counts, according to the indictment. Montgomery-Wilson also faces a firearms charge.

The indictment found that both Montgomery-Wilson and Powell “conspired with each other and others to kill Stephon Mack in exchange for money.”

A security guard was injured during the fatal shooting but survived, the release said.

Montgomery-Wilson and Powell used a cell phone and a 2014 Chrysler 300 to commit the murder, the indictment continued.

At the time, the U.S. attorney’s office also released images of the suspected shooter as Montgomery-Wilson approached Mack with a gun in hand as Powell pointed a firearm at him.

While investigating Mack’s death, federal investigators scoured social media posts, jailhouse phone calls, firearm purchases and even looked at the lyrics to Durk’s song “Ahh Ha,” which was released about a month after his death.

The warrant also alleged that both Montgomery-Wilson and Powell “may have exchanged text messages regarding payments for Mack’s murder.”

Authorities also found a text message conversation between two people that mentioned “OTF” — Durk’s rap group, the complaint said.

During a conversation on Feb. 10, 2022, one person asked “Wassup with otf,” while another responded “Nothing,” the legal document showed.

A little over a week later, the two people had another conversation, with someone asking, “Did Durk give?” [sic] Do you have that money?,” the arrest warrant application showed.

The rapper’s attorneys hit back at the accuser last week and focused on his client’s music, adding that Durk has been involved in giving back to his Chicago community for years.

“When you see an artist’s rap lyrics cited as ‘evidence’ against him or her, it is a blatant indication that there is no real evidence against that person,” Banks’ attorneys told the Chicago Tribune.

“The real truth is that Durk Banks is a Grammy Award-winning artist, a devoted father and a loving husband.

‘Sir. Banks has been deeply committed to giving back to the Chicago community he loves through his Neighborhood Heroes Foundation, hosting more than a dozen charity events in recent years. He looks forward to fighting these false allegations in court,” she added.

The “All My Life” singer has been held without bond in Florida since Oct. 24 after he was arrested by authorities while en route to a Miami-area airport after being “booked on multiple international flights.”

In October, the five associates involved in the Los Angeles shooting – Kavon London Grant, 28, Deandre Dontrell Wilson, 33, Keith Jones, 33, David Brian Lindsey, 33, and Asa Houston, 36 – were indicted for their alleged involvement .

OTF is a hip-hop collective founded by Durk, mentor of fellow rapper King Von.

The plot to shoot Quando Rando is said to be due to his alleged involvement in King Von’s death in 2020.

King Von, real name Dayvon Bennett, was killed in November 2020 during a brawl outside a hookah lounge in Atlanta.

After his death, an unnamed co-conspirator, part of OTF, offered money and “lucrative music opportunities” to anyone who would kill Quando Rondo.