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Federal prosecutors announced Thursday that rapper Lil Durk, who was charged with murder in Los Angeles two years ago, may be connected to another murder in Chicago. The new charges helped convince the judge to continue the prison sentence for the Grammy Award winner. The case progresses.
At a detention hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue said the 32-year-old rapper, whose real name is Dirk Devontay Banks, has significant resources and the ability to flee.
Lawyers for the bank had asked for his release on a bond secured by $2.3 million in equity in two Georgia homes and $1 million in cash. He also said he would hire 24-hour security to ensure compliance with court-imposed conditions.
More than 30 people packed the courtroom, including family, friends and representatives from Sony Music, and Assistant U.S. Atty. Ian Yanniello called out the fact that Banks is a “powerful and influential person with enormous resources.”
“This case is about how he used his power and influence and how he used those resources to promote and perpetuate violence with deadly consequences,” Ianniello said. said.
Banks is accused of ordering the murder of Tikian Bowman, also known as Quando Rondo, a Georgia rapper who was killed in a botched ambush near the Beverly Center mall in Los Angeles in 2022.
In briefs filed Thursday, prosecutors also cited another federal case in Chicago, the killing of Stephen Mack outside a youth center.
The search warrant, originally filed under seal in April 2023 and publicly filed with redactions on Wednesday, alleges the bank “made the following offers:[ed] Offering people money to kill the person responsible for his brother’s murder, and more specifically offering to pay the murdered gangster’s disciples. ”
Banks’ brother, Dontay Banks Jr., was shot to death outside a nightclub in Harvey, Illinois, in June 2021, according to search warrants.
“Evidence collected in this case also indicates that the defendant is suspected of offering financial incentives to solicit other murders, including those of witnesses’ families,” California prosecutors said in a prepared statement. ” he said. “The defendant’s modus operandi is clear: He will use his power, money, influence, and any pretrial release to endanger anyone he perceives to be a threat, including witnesses in this case.”
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Illinois said two people, Anthony Montgomery Wilson and Preston Powell, were charged with Mack’s murder. Asked whether Banks has been or will be indicted, a spokesperson declined to comment.
One of Banks’ attorneys, Jonathan Breiman, said after the detention hearing that his client has not been charged in connection with the Chicago shooting and “doesn’t anticipate that he will be charged.”
“The news that comes out of it has nothing to do with us,” said Drew Findling, Banks’ other attorney. “Our client has nothing to do with it. It’s not relevant to our case.”
During the detention hearing, Banks smiled at his wife and mother, who were crying during the hearing. Mr. Banks blew his wife a kiss as he was led away by federal marshals.
“We love you,” family and friends shouted at him in the hallway outside the courtroom.
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