Newly unsealed court documents connect Lil Durk to the fatal 2022 shooting of alleged gang leader Stephon Mack on Chicago’s Far South Side. This comes as the rapper, born Devontay Durk Banks, faces murder-for-hire charges in Los Angeles.
The records, made public ahead of a Thursday detention hearing in Los Angeles, detail allegations that Banks orchestrated the January 2022 killing of Mack, leader of the Smashville faction of the Gangster Disciples. According to federal agents, Mack was gunned down outside the Youth Peace Center of Roseland shortly after exiting the building.
While Banks has not been charged in Mack’s killing, the investigation remains active. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are expected to highlight the shooting as a reason to deny Banks bail.
The rapper’s legal troubles intensified last month when he was charged with bankrolling a murder-for-hire plot targeting rapper Quando Rondo in retaliation for the 2020 killing of King Von, a close associate of Banks.
Court filings allege that Banks has used his wealth to incite violence. One federal agent wrote that Banks has “offered money for people to kill those responsible for his brother’s murder and more specifically, offering to pay money for any Gangster Disciple that is killed.” Banks’ brother, Dontay Banks, was fatally shot outside a suburban Chicago nightclub in 2021.
Prosecutors claim the investigation into Mack’s death revealed text messages, social media posts, and jail phone calls referencing payment for the murder. Lyrics from Lil Durk’s song “Ahhh Ha,” released shortly after the shooting, were also cited in the warrant application.
Banks’ attorneys have condemned the use of his lyrics as evidence, stating that it undermines his record of philanthropy and community engagement in Chicago. “Durk Banks is a Grammy Award-winning artist, a dedicated father, and a loving husband,” his legal team said in a statement. “He is looking forward to fighting against these false allegations in court.”
In the meantime, two men, Anthony Montgomery-Wilson and Preston Powell, have been charged in Mack’s death. Investigators allege the pair exchanged text messages discussing payment for the killing and referenced Banks’ rap collective, Only the Family (OTF).
As the case unfolds, Banks’ attorneys continue to push back against the allegations, emphasizing his contributions to the Chicago community through his Neighborhood Heroes Foundation. However, prosecutors argue that the rapper’s violent lyrics and financial ties to gang activity paint a different picture.
I said it once and I continue to say it once you start making money like that and earn wealth you have a decision to make you can’t keep one foot in the hood and the other one in the Limelight you know some people that you can’t take along and you should know who those people are you know that you can’t straddle the fence and you shouldn’t care about what they say about you packing up and going on about your business you can take whoever you want to go with you but them guys they want to keep the gang bang and stuff and leave them with it leave them where they at you just going to always be haters so you can’t worry about what they say