Federal prosecutors said Thursday that rapper Lil Durk, who was charged with a murder in Los Angeles two years ago, may be connected to another murder in Chicago — charges that helped convince a judge to order the Grammy winner to continue jail.
During the detention hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue said the 32-year-old rapper’s legal name is Durk Devontay Banks , has a lot of resources and the ability to escape.
Banks’ attorneys had pressed for his release, posting a bond secured by $2.3 million in equity and $1 million in cash from two Georgia homes. They also said they would employ round-the-clock security personnel to ensure compliance with court-imposed conditions.
More than 30 people, including family, friends and Sony Music representatives, packed the courtroom. Ian Yanniello said it was a testament to the fact that Banks “is a powerful, influential man with a lot of resources”.
“This case is about how he exploited that power and influence and how he used those resources to promote and perpetuate violence with deadly consequences,” Iannello said.
Banks is accused of ordering the murder of Tyquian Bowman, the Georgia rapper Quando Rondo, whose cousin was killed in a botched ambush near the Beverly Center shopping mall in Los Angeles in 2022. Kerx has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the complaint, Banks attempted to express his revenge by rapping, “the music explicitly references Bowman screaming “No, no! ” audio from news clips, thereby commercializing the shooting. After seeing the body of my cousin.
In court Thursday, Banks’ attorney Drew Findling disputed that claim, saying the song prosecutors mentioned was recorded eight months before the shooting.
Prosecutors countered that the indictment “sets out significant evidence of Mr. Banks’ involvement.”
In a brief filed Thursday, prosecutors also cited a separate federal case in Chicago involving the killing of Stephen Mack outside a juvenile center.
A search warrant originally filed under seal in Illinois in April 2023 and filed publicly and amended on Wednesday claimed the bank “provided[ed] Offering people money to kill those responsible for his brother’s murder, and more specifically, money for any Gangster Disciples who were killed.
According to a search warrant, Banks’ brother, Dontay Banks, Jr., was shot and killed outside a nightclub in Harvey, Illinois, in June 2021.
“Evidence gathered in this case also revealed that the defendant was involved in offering monetary rewards for the murder of other individuals, including the family of a witness,” California prosecutors said in the brief. “The defendant’s modus operandi was clear: He would use his power to the advantage of others. , money, influence, and any pretrial release to endanger anyone he believed posed a threat, including witnesses in this case.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Illinois said two people have been charged in Mack’s killing: Anthony Montgomery Wilson and Preston Powell. A spokesman declined to comment when asked whether Banks had been or would be charged.
Jonathan Brayman, one of Banks’ attorneys, said after the detention hearing that his client has not yet been charged in connection with the Chicago shooting and “we do not anticipate that he will be charged.”
“The news coming out of there has nothing to do with us,” Findling added. “Our client has nothing to do with this; it is not part of our case.
During the detention hearing, Banks smiled at his wife and mother, who cried during the hearing. Banks blew a kiss to his wife as U.S. Marshals led him away.
“We love you,” his family and friends shouted to him in the hallway outside the courthouse.
