FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Durk has been arrested in Florida on federal charges that he paid for the attempted 2022 revenge killing of rapper Quando Rondo at a Los Angeles gas station, a shooting that resulted in the death of Rondo's cousin.
Durk, 32, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire in the slaying of Saviay'a Robinson, 24, who was gunned down on Aug. 19, 2022, according to an FBI affidavit released Friday.
Five other members of Durk's Chicago-based rap collective, “Only the Family" or “OTF,” have also been arrested and at least two more arrests may be forthcoming, according to court documents that have been filed. Durk was arrested Thursday night in South Florida as he attempted to flee the country, the FBI says.
Durk, whose real name is Durk Banks, won a Grammy earlier this year for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his song “All My Life,” which featured J. Cole. He has also been nominated three times and was a featured performer on Drake's “Laugh Now Cry Later.”
FBI Agent Sarah Corcoran said in her affidavit that OTF members engage “in violence, including murder and assault, at the direction of Banks and to maintain their status in OTF.”
Durk's representatives did not immediately respond to emails Friday seeking comment.
According to Corcoran's affidavit and other federal court records, the shooting stems from the November 2020 slaying of OTF rapper King Von, 26, at an Atlanta nightclub after Von and Rondo got into a fight. Records say a friend of Rondo's pulled a gun and shot Von several times, killing him. Von, whose real name was Dayvon Bennett, had two hit singles, ″Crazy Story″ and “Took Her to the O.”
Authorities say Durk made it known that he would “pay a bounty” to anyone who killed Rondo, whose real name is Tyquian Bowman.
Almost two years later, a murder plot quickly came together, Corcoran wrote.
On Aug. 18, 2022, Durk's associates learned that Rondo was staying at a Los Angeles hotel. That day, Deandre Wilson, Keith Jones, David Lindsey, Asa Houston and a fifth unnamed suspect flew from Chicago to San Diego and then drove to Los Angeles using funds provided by Durk, Corcoran said.
That day, Durk allegedly texted an associate arranging the flights, “Don’t book no flights under no names involved wit me.” Corcoran said there is video evidence that Durk was staying at a house in the San Fernando Valley that day.
Once arriving in Los Angeles, the OTF members met Kayon Grant, who had flown there on a private jet. Grant, a top OTF associate, got the men hotel rooms, purchased them four ski masks and obtained two luxury sedans, court records say. Grant allegedly gave Jones, Lindsey and a third unnamed suspect guns, including one that had been converted into a fully automatic machine gun.
The next day, the group allegedly followed Rondo and Robinson as they drove a Cadillac Escalade to a Los Angeles marijuana dispensary, a West Hollywood clothing store and then a gas station across the street from the Beverly Center.
There, Houston parked his car behind the station so Jones, Lindsey and the unnamed defendant could ambush Rondo. They got out and opened fire, killing Robinson, who was standing outside the Escalade, but missing Rondo, the indictment and news stories about the shooting say.
The suspects then went to an In-N-Out hamburger stand where they discussed payment with Grant and then flew home to Chicago from San Diego, Corcoran and other documents say. Wilson allegedly later paid Jones and Lindsey an undisclosed amount.
Grant, Jones. Lindsey, Wilson and Houston were arrested Thursday in Chicago on conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire charges. No attorney information was immediately available for those men in court records.
After their arrests, Corcoran wrote, Durk booked two flights from South Florida airports — one to Dubai and one to Switzerland. He then booked a private flight to Italy, but was arrested in Miami before he could board that flight.
Durk and the other defendants are being held pending their transfer to Los Angeles.
FILE - Lil Durk poses in the press room with the award for best melodic rap performance for "All My Life" by Lil Durk featuring J. Cole during the 66th annual Grammy Awards, Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Freddie Freeman scooped up his youngest son and held him tight, planting kisses on the blond head of 3-year-old Maximus. The slugger's wife, Chelsea, corralled their other two sons for a family photo on the Dodger Stadium field where Dad had just created an indelible moment in baseball lore.
Three months earlier, Freddie and Chelsea were at Max’s hospital bedside while he fought for his life after being stricken with Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Max survived and thrived — and he got to watch his father make World Series history Friday night for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Freeman is still recovering from a badly sprained right ankle, but he had zero trouble rounding the bases after hitting his 10th-inning grand slam to win Game 1 of the World Series over the Yankees. After celebrating with his teammates, he looked even more nimble when he ran and jumped at the screen behind home plate to celebrate joyously with his father.
“It felt like nothing, just kind of floating,” a beaming Freeman said.
“Those are the kind of things, when you’re 5 years old with your two older brothers and you’re playing wiffle ball in the backyard, those are the scenarios you dream about — two outs, bases loaded in a World Series game," he added. "For it to actually happen and get a home run and walk it off to give us a 1-0 lead, that’s as good as it gets right there.”
After everything the eight-time All-Star has endured since midsummer, it’s clear nothing will stop Freeman this year from giving everything he has — both to his sport and his family.
“He’s doing something that’s basically heroic to put himself in position to play,” Dodgers postseason hero Kiké Hernández said. “Freddie is a grinder. Not too many superstars grind the way Freddie does. He’s a Hall of Famer, and this is a special moment in his career.”
Freeman missed eight games for the Dodgers in July and August after Max fell ill while watching his father at the All-Star Game festivities in Texas.
When the family returned home, Max was hospitalized and put on a ventilator after he experienced partial paralysis and breathing difficulty. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré, the rare neurological condition that affects the immune system, nerves and muscles.
Max’s condition gradually improved, and Freeman returned to work Aug. 5. He didn’t hide his tears before or after he received a standing ovation from Dodgers fans who understood the depth of his distress.
Freeman then broke his right middle finger less than two weeks after returning, and he slumped while trying to play with the injury before manager Dave Roberts persuaded him to sit out a series in late August to reset his body.
Max Freeman came back to Chavez Ravine in September to watch the Dodgers down the stretch. The youngster is expected to recover fully, Freeman said.
Through it all, Freeman produced another standout season at first base and at the plate, batting .282 with an .854 OPS, 22 homers, 89 RBIs and 4.7 WAR.
But Freeman badly injured his ankle Sept. 26 in the Dodgers’ regular-season home finale. The Dodgers acknowledged the severity of the sprain would have kept most players out for several weeks during the regular season, but Freeman is determined to gut it out if possible — because it’s October.
He has sat out three postseason games, including two of the final three against the Mets in the NLCS. The Dodgers won anyway, reaching the World Series for the first time in Freeman's three years back home in his native Southern California.
“There’s been multiple times where we’ve had to go to Freddie and say, ‘Hey, you need to sit this one out,’” slugger Max Muncy said. “‘We’ve got you tonight. You need to rest.’ If you know Freddie, that’s a hard conversation to have. But he knows what’s best for the team, and now he’s feeling like himself enough to do what he did tonight.”
After nearly a week of rest and treatment, Freeman said his ankle “actually felt pretty good” heading into Game 1 against the Yankees.
He showed it in the first inning when he legged out a triple — his first since June 1 — with help from Juan Soto misplaying his drive down the right field line.
Freeman is only the third player in baseball history to get a grand slam and a triple in a postseason game. Kaz Matsui, who did it in the 2007 NLDS, is the only other player to accomplish the feat since 1920.
In the sixth inning, Freeman watched with awe, his arms folded, as Giancarlo Stanton’s mammoth homer flew deep into the left field stands for New York.
But 36 years after another veteran Dodgers slugger hit a World Series Game 1-ending homer and limped around the bases in a frenzied Chavez Ravine, Freeman took the same hobbled jog in the deafening din of October celebrations.
Kirk Gibson created one of the most iconic moments in Dodgers history in 1988. Freeman’s blast was eerily similar, even landing in roughly the same part of the Dodger Stadium bleachers — with brake lights from early-departing fans visible in the parking lots beyond.
Muncy hit his own World Series game-ending homer in the 18th inning of the Dodgers' victory over the Boston Red Sox in 2018, albeit in Los Angeles' only victory in the series.
“When I hit mine, you kind of black out in that moment,” Muncy said. “With this one, I could see the reactions. Feel the ground shaking. I was standing next to Dave, but as soon as (Freeman) hit it, I just launched my bat.”
Freeman’s homer will be immortalized in Cooperstown: He has agreed to give his cleats to the Baseball Hall of Fame — but only after the World Series is over.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman celebrates his walk-off grand slam home run against the New York Yankees during the 10th inning in Game 1 of the baseball World Series, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman celebrates his walk-off grand slam home run against the New York Yankees during the 10th inning in Game 1 of the baseball World Series, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman celebrates after hitting a game-winning grand slam against the New York Yankees during the 10th inning in Game 1 of the baseball World Series, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Los Angeles. The Dodgers won 6-3. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman celebrates after hitting a walk-off grand slam home run during the 10th inning in Game 1 of the baseball World Series against the New York Yankees, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
