Durk, born Durk Derrick Banks, is facing federal charges in the Aug. 2020 fatal shooting of Saviay'a "Lul Pab" Robinson rapper Quando Rondo's cousin near a Beverly Center gas station. Prosecutors say it was no random act but a planned hit, planned in retaliation for the 2020 killing of Durk's friend and OTF collaborator, King Von.
In the latest turn of a high-stakes legal battle, Lil Durk's effort to get out of federal custody this week received a serious setback. Prosecutors are not just digging in, but they're doubling down. The Chicago rap star is still a serious flight risk and remains a threat to public safety, they say, and they're ready to present more evidence to make sure he doesn't go home anytime soon.
The feds have said Durk wasn't just involved in it, but he was the mastermind. They've labeled him the head honcho of the 'Only The Family (OTF) gang.' In a recently filed superseding indictment, they claim he would leverage his status and crew to do goons dirty up to and possibly including murder.
Durk's lawyers recently filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing against the evidence used to keep him locked up. They contended that the government relied too much on his lyrics culled from fan-generated websites and viral content to link him to the crime.
"The timing is irrelevant, as is whether his lyrics and whether he 'commercialized' his violence by rapping, which he did," U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli said. This isn't about art; it's about action for the government. Essayli was clear: Durk wasn't in jail because of his music, but He's behind bars for what he has been accused of doing.
According to the feds, that includes attempting to secure himself a couple of different international flights, including one to a place without an extradition treaty, after his co-defendants were busted. According to prosecutors, he was arrested while attempting to flee the country on a private jet, and that alone tells you much of the risk he poses.
They further claim that he employs lyrics that, regardless of when they were written, exhibit similarities to the style and procedure involved in the killing of his victim, Robinson. Their point is that the music isn't evidence against him, but it sketches a dark portrait of behavior that fits all too closely with the charges.
And now, Should the Court reopen the detention hearing? Prosecutors say they'll return with new evidence. This time, it's concerned with what Durk has reportedly been getting into on the inside from breaking Bureau of Prisons rules while in custody.
As yet, the Court has refused to move. In December 2024, it was found that no combination of release conditions would ensure the public's safety or prevent Durk from fleeing. The fed message is loud and clear: If Durk had any illusions of fighting his case out and staying out, the government would be all too ready to close that door and throw away the key.
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