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A Judge in Fulton County, Georgia today found probable cause to charge Lil Durk (real name Durk Derek Banks) and fellow OTF rapper King Von with five felonies. Lil Durk also faces a criminal street gang charge.
Warrants were issued for the rappers earlier this month in connection with a shooting that happened in February outside of Atlanta restaurant “The Varsity”. In May, Lil Durk gave an interview to WSBTV where he maintained his innocence right before he turned himself in.
Lil Durk dropped a new song around the same time titled “Turn Myself In” where he professes his innocence and directly addresses his recent legal troubles. The rapper also posted on his social media account that he was turning himself in.
Lil Durk and King Von turned themselves in on May 30. Fans believed that they were innocent and the charges would be dropped once the facts surfaced.
What Happened?
At 5:49 AM on February 5, witnesses saw 23-year-old John Witherspoon in a verbal altercation with an unidentified group of men. Shortly after the verbal altercation, 18 shots were fired at Witherspoon who was hit in the thigh. He ran across the street to One Cigar Bar and Lounge where the staff called an ambulance for him. Witherspoon was admitted to the hospital in serious condition.
An anonymous witness who was at One Cigar Bar and Lounge told WSB-TV “When I heard gunshots it’s a whole other sound, so I didn’t hear voices, I heard bullets and I saw bodies falling,”
At the time, detectives said that surveillance cameras captured the crime but Lil Durk and King Von were confident that the evidence would exonerate them.
A Surveillance Video Allegedly Shows Lil Durk as the Shooter
During a probable cause hearing on Friday, Atlanta Police Department detective Jeffrey Churchill laid out compelling evidence against Lil Durk and King Von. Churchill told the court “I spoke to a witness who was there at the scene when the incident took place,” who was talking to the two rappers when they saw a fight in the car in front of them. The shooting started shortly afterward.
Prosecutors say Durk and Von knew Witherspoon personally and had planned to rob him because they knew he had $30,000 on him, an expensive diamond chain, and a nice car. They also argued that the case was gang related due to Lil Durk’s Chicago gang affiliations.
In addition to the witness account, Detective Churchill said there is surveillance video that has clear footage of the rapper driving his car while firing a gun at Witherspoon.
Lil Durk’s lawyers tried to cast doubt on the analysis of the surveillance video. According to WSB-TV, Lil Durk’s attorneys asked Churchill “You don’t see Mr. Banks shooting on the street at any time. The only time you believe he was shooting is when he was in the camouflage Jeep, correct?”
“That’s the only time I can see him shooting,” Churchill responded.
After the two hour hearing, the Judge found probable cause to charge Lil Durk and King Von with criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The case is now set to go to trial.
Both Chicago rappers will be back in court in a month for their bond hearing.
Lil Durk is no Stranger to Legal Troubles
Lil Durk’s checkered past might complicate his current case. He was arrested on a weapons charge back in 2011 and sentenced to three months in jail. He was released on bond but ended up serving 87 days of that sentence. He was charged again in 2013 and charged with unlawful use of a firearm by a felon when police witnessed him throwing a firearm into his car as they approached him.