Lil Durk remains behind bars after a judge rejected his request for bond.
On Thursday (December 13), attorneys for the Chicago rapper reportedly proposed an extensive bail package, including $2.3 million in property and $1 million cash from Sony Music. The defense also offered electronic monitoring, 24-hour security at a secure property, and the handover of all electronic devices.
Prosecutors say the proposed bond conditions were “woefully inadequate.” They argued Banks is a danger to the community and labeled him a flight risk, stating the evidence against Lil Durk warranted his detention.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue agreed, telling the Los Angeles court, “I find that there is no condition or combination of conditions that will reasonably assure the safety of the community.”
She added, “The allegations are not that the defendant personally pulled the trigger. The allegations are that the defendant exercises a significant amount of control over others.”
Lil Durk was arrested in October for his alleged involvement in a murder-for-hire plot. The rapper and five other men were indicted on federal charges for allegedly plotting to kill rapper Quando Rondo in retaliation for King Von’s 2020 murder.
His trial date is set for January 7, 2025. Lil Durk faces life in prison if convicted.
Lil Durk Allegedly Tied To “Other Murders”
Meanwhile, prosecutors linked Durk to another murder, the killing of an alleged gang leader outside a community center on the Far South Side of Chicago in 2022.
A newly unsealed indictment accuses Lil Durk of funding a murder-for-hire plot in retaliation for the 2021 killing of his brother, Dontay Banks. According to the filing, Durk orchestrated the slaying of Stephon Mack in January 2022. The FBI claims Mack was the leader of the Smashville faction of the Gangster Disciples at the time.
“Lil Durk was and still is offering money for people to kill those responsible for his brother’s murder, and more specifically, offering to pay money for any Gangster Disciple that is killed,” a federal agent wrote in the warrant application filed April 2023.
Prosecutors also argued Durk’s alleged ties to “other murders,” the Chicago Tribune reports.
“Evidence collected in this case also shows (the) defendant has allegedly placed monetary bounties to solicit other murders, including a family member of a witness,” prosecutors wrote. “Defendant’s modus operandi is clear: he will use his power, his money, his influence, and any pretrial release to endanger anyone who he perceives as a threat, including witnesses in this case.”
