Lil Durk’s latest legal battle took a sharp turn Tuesday when a federal judge in Los Angeles refused to derail the government’s murder-for-hire case against the Chicago-born rapper.
The artist, whose real name is Durk Banks, is accused of directing an attempted hit on a rival rapper, Quando Rondo, and instead claimed the life of Rondo’s cousin, 24-year-old Saviay’a Robinson, who died in 2022.
Durk’s legal team argued that prosecutors have left them guessing about the core details of the allegation, including what form the supposed bounty took and how it was communicated.
Attorney Christy O’Connor told the court that the indictment is so lacking in specifics that it’s impossible to craft a proper defense. She also pointed to a protected government witness who reportedly told investigators he was never offered any sort of payment to participate in the plot.
The judge wasn’t persuaded. U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald said the indictment meets federal standards and reminded the defense that they’ll have the opportunity to challenge witness accounts at trial. He did delay a decision on whether the government must provide more detail in a formal bill of particulars.
Tensions rose again when Durk’s lawyers accused prosecutors of mishandling information about threats made against a magistrate judge earlier in the case. They argued the nondisclosure tainted the proceedings, but Fitzgerald rejected their attempt to have him and the broader bench recused.
Banks and five alleged members of his OTF collective remain charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire as the high-profile case moves toward trial.