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Chicago rapper Durk Derrick Banks, best known as Lil Durk, continues to be in federal lockup following a judge’s rejection of his $3.3 million bail in a high-profile murder-for-hire case. The May 2025 detention hearing decision emphasizes the seriousness of the charges and the court’s concerns about possible dangers on release.
A federal judge ruled that rapper Lil Durk should remain in jail pending his trial for the murder-for-hire charges after a report emerged that the star is flouting rules in jail and using other inmates’ phone accounts, making three-way calls, as reported by the LA Times.
In the course of a bail review hearing on May 8, 2025, the U.S. Magistrate Judge, Patricia Donahue, stated that the rapper, whose legal name is Durk Devontay Banks, exhibited a "disrespect for the rules" by utilizing the phone accounts of 13 other inmates at L.A.’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
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Drew Findling, Banks’ attorney, said that other inmates have also done the same thing, and the defense team hadn’t “seen it as an issue” that would prevent the release. He also told the judge that Banks, in the white prayer cap on his head, was committed "to his Muslim faith."
When the hour long hearing came to an end, the 32-year-old artist stood up and broadly smiled at a group of nearly two dozen supporters who were seated within the gallery. He pressed his right hand to his heart and nodded at many family and friends' faces before the U.S. Marshals brought him back into detention.
In a conversation with Rolling Stone on May 08, 2025, Rapper's dad, Dontay “Big Durk” Banks, stated:
“He’s strong and focused. You saw the smile that was on his face, both during the time and afterwards, after the ruling. He’s still smiling. He’s still strong. He’s standing on his faith, you know, and believing that God will make a way for him.”
Lil Durk a.k.a. Durk Banks, had proposed to pay a Beverly Hills-based ARSEC Security to impose a strict home detention protocol, which should be enforced with armed guards available 24/7 while he is preparing for his upcoming trial, as reported by XXL. He also boosted the cash component of his proposed bail package by including an additional $150,000 along with the $1 million that had earlier been contributed by Alamo Records.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Donahue said in refusing Banks’ release that the charges against the rapper “remain the most serious, as reflected in the potential punishment”. Prosecutors further stated that the indictment’s allegation of a murder for hire that ended in death has a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.
Lil Durk: Background of the murder-for-hire case
Rapper Lil Durk, born Durk Derrick Banks, is currently charged in federal court over an alleged “murder-for-hire” scheme that ended in the killing of Saviay’s “Lul Pab” Robinson, the cousin of fellow rapper Quando Rondo.
On August 19, 2022, Quando Rondo and his cousin Lul Pab were ambushed at a gas station close to the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. Though Rondo got out unscathed, Lul Pab was shot dead. Authorities claim that Lil Durk had masterminded this attack as revenge for the 2020 killing of King Von, who was shot to death while engaged in a fight with Rondo’s entourage in Atlanta.
According to a press release published on November 8, 2024, by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, Lil Durk was arrested in Broward County, Florida, by U.S. Marshals in October 2024. He has several federal charges, including conspiracy to murder for hire, murder for hire that caused death, and using a machine gun in a violent crime that resulted in death.
The press release further stated that the five suspected members of his Only The Family (OTF) gang, Kavon Grant, DeAndre Wilson, Keith Jones, David Lindsey, and Asa Houston, were also arrested and accused of the same type of violations. Prosecutors allege that Durk bankrolled the operation via OTF, and these include flight tickets and rented vehicles associated with OTF funds.
The January 7, 2025, scheduling for Lil Durk’s murder for hire trial has been postponed to October 14, 2025. This delay is reportedly a consequence of the vast amount of evidence in this case, approximately 230 gigabytes of digital evidence, and over 20,000 pages of investigation.
The digital evidence includes audio and video recordings, surveillance video clips, and other records, whereas the documentation describes reports on violent events, photos, witness accounts, and medical records. The prosecution and defense both consented to the postponement on the grounds of the complexity and the need for adequate preparation time.
