The rapper's lawyers want him out of jail ahead of a second racketeering trial. Prosecutors say he'll flee.
Rachel Scharf More Stories by Rachel Diddy Moved From New Jersey Prison to Similar Facility in Pennsylvania Shein dice que patrimonio de Selena no puede demandar por imitaciones en su sitio de moda rápida Hermano de Selena Quintanilla demanda formalmente a hermana por ganancias de música y otros activos del patrimonio View All Share on Facebook Share on X Share on Pinterest + additional share options added Share on Reddit Share on LinkedIn Share on Whats App Send an Email Print this article Post a Comment Share on Tumblr Lil Durk performs onstage at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the T-Mobile Arena on September 22, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gilbert Flores/Variety A judge is struggling with whether to let out Lil Durk on bail following his acquittal on murder-for-hire charges but before a second racketeering trial.
The “All My Life” hitmaker (Durk Banks) was found not guilty in September of taking out a hit on rival rapper Quando Rondo . Durk’s lawyers are now pushing for his release after more than two years in jail, offering to put up all his future music royalties as bond and even getting letters of support from Jay-Z and J. Cole .
Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald weighed the request during a Wednesday (Nov. 4) court hearing, attended by Billboard . The judge was torn, given that Durk attempted to flee to Dubai before his original 2024 arrest and still faces another trial next summer for allegedly operating his Only the Family (OTF) label as a violent gang.
On the one hand, Judge Fitzgerald said “not that much has changed” for Durk and that “even an innocent person would be tempted to flee” at this point. On the other, however, he noted that Durk “has a very strong incentive now to let the legal system play out, so the acquittals really do change the calculation a great deal.”
“It’s a question of psychology,” said the judge. “Would he flee?”
Durk’s team says the answer is no. His attorney Drew Findling argued Wednesday that the rapper “understands how the system works” and wants a second jury to find him not guilty again. Fellow defense lawyer Christy O’Connor also pointed out that the proposed bond package truly encompasses all his future earnings on his music, so he would be left destitute if he went on the lam.
Prosecutors want Durk to stay in jail. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Weiner said Durk has “absolutely no respect for authority” and would “run amok” if let out. Weiner also pointed out that Durk could simply flee to a non-extradition country and make new music. “He could accumulate more wealth,” said the prosecutor.
Judge Fitzgerald ultimately took the bail motion under submission and will issue a written ruling in due course.
Durk was acquitted of murder-for-hire following a two-week trial, in which prosecutors accused him of putting a bounty on Rondo in retaliation for the 2020 killing of his close friend and collaborator King Von . Rondo was shot at a Los Angeles gas station in 2022 and survived, but his cousin Saviay’a Robinson, also known as Lul Pab, was killed in the crossfire.
The remaining count faced by Durk is under the federal Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Activity (VICAR) statute, which broadly criminalizes gang violence. Prosecutors want to argue at next year’s seco…