Grammy-winning artist Lil Durk has been implicated in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme against a rival rapper, which also led to the death of his cousin.

During his appearance in a Los Angeles federal court on Thursday, the 32-year-old (whose real name is Durk Davontay Banks) faced charges of conspiracy, murder-for-hire, and firearms offenses. According to a spokesperson from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for California’s Central District, Durk entered a plea of not guilty.

The charges against him include one count of conspiracy, one count of using interstate facilities for murder-for-hire that resulted in death, and one count of “using, carrying, and discharging firearms including a machine gun, and possessing such firearms in relation to a violent crime resulting in death.”

If found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

YSL News has contacted Durk’s legal team for a response.

His trial is set to start on January 7, 2025. Prior to that, a status conference is scheduled for November 25, along with a detention hearing on December 12.

Prosecutors claim Lil Durk ‘placed bounties’ on rivals

A revised grand jury indictment from June, filed in California federal court on November 7, accuses Durk of conspiring with five accomplices, allegedly linked to his hip-hop group Only the Family, in a plan to murder a victim referred to in court as T.B.

Prosecutors assert that on August 19, 2022, several co-conspirators were sent to Southern California to track down T.B., ultimately locating him in an alley behind a gas station in the Los Angeles area. They allegedly used firearms, including one modified to operate as a fully automatic machine gun, and fired shots at T.B.’s vehicle.

The shooting resulted in the death of T.B.’s relative, S.R., who was standing nearby.

It is reported that Georgia rapper Quando Rondo (whose real name is Tyquian Bowman) was the intended target of this plot, and his cousin who was killed was Saviay’a Robinson, known as Lul Pab. Prosecutors allege that the attack was in retaliation for the murder of Chicago rapper King Von in November 2020.

The indictment claims that Durk “would put bounties on people he and other OTF associates wished to kill.” His alleged accomplices include Kavon London Grant, Deandre Dontrell Wilson, Keith Jones, David Brian Lindsey, and Asa Houston.

On October 17, Durk was apprehended near Miami International Airport while he was allegedly preparing to board an international flight.

Earlier this year, the rapper received the Grammy award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his song “All My Life,” featuring J. Cole.