A federal judge has taken Lil Durk’s bail request under consideration following the rapper’s acquittal on murder-for-hire charges. Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, is seeking release after more than two years in jail while he awaits a second trial on a racketeering charge.
At a Wednesday, Nov. 4, hearing, Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald weighed the defense’s proposal to use all of Durk’s future music royalties as bond. His lawyers also presented letters of support from Jay-Z and J. Cole. The judge said the acquittal had changed the calculation, but noted that Durk had attempted to flee to Dubai before his 2024 arrest and still faces another trial next summer.
“It’s a question of psychology,” Fitzgerald said, asking whether Durk would flee. Defense attorney Drew Findling argued that Durk understands the legal process and wants another jury to find him not guilty. Co-counsel Christy O’Connor said the proposed bond would cover all of the rapper’s future music earnings, leaving him with nothing if he fled.
Prosecutors oppose his release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Weiner argued that Durk would disregard authority and could flee to a country without extradition, then continue making music and earning money.
Durk was acquitted in September after a two-week trial over allegations that he arranged a hit on rival rapper Quando Rondo in retaliation for the 2020 killing of his friend and collaborator King Von. Rondo survived a 2022 shooting at a Los Angeles gas station; his cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, also known as Lul Pab, was killed.
The remaining charge is under the federal Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Activity statute. Prosecutors plan to argue at next year’s trial that Durk used his leadership role in the Only the Family label to orchestrate the Rondo incident, as well as a 2019 shooting in Atlanta and a 2022 killing in Chicago. His lawyers call the charge weak and argue that evidence related to the Rondo shooting should be barred under double-jeopardy rules. Those issues are expected to be addressed in court filings over the coming months.
Fitzgerald did not issue a decision at the hearing and will rule on the bail motion in writing.
Sources: Billboard.