A federal judge has denied a motion to separate Lil Durk's trial from his three co-defendants and postponed the proceedings to August 20, despite objections from the rapper's legal team. The Grammy-winning artist, whose real name is Durk Banks, faces charges related to a 2022 Los Angeles shooting targeting rival rapper Quando Rondo. Banks has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody without bail.
Lil Durk, legally known as Durk Banks, is scheduled for a federal murder-for-hire trial starting August 20, following a judge's ruling on February 27, 2026, that denied severance for his three co-defendants: Deandre Dontrell Wilson, Asa Houston, and David Brian Lindsey. The trial was previously set for April but delayed due to a scheduling conflict involving counsel for one co-defendant, over the objection of Banks' lawyers.
U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald ruled that trying the four men together promotes judicial efficiency, as the vast majority of evidence would be admissible against each. He noted that any risk of spillover prejudice could be mitigated through jury instructions. "While some of the evidence focuses solely on defendant Banks and may require limiting instructions, none of that evidence is so egregious or voluminous that it would prevent the jury from making a reliable judgment about guilt or innocence," the judge wrote.
Banks' attorneys, Drew Findling and Christy O’Connor, stated: "On behalf of Banks, we are fully prepared to proceed to trial. The matter was continued by the court over our objection." The judge also denied Banks' request for a more detailed charging document, ruling that the indictment and government disclosures sufficiently inform him of the case.
The charges stem from an August 19, 2022, shooting at a Los Angeles gas station near the Beverly Center, where gunmen allegedly fired at least 18 rounds, including from a machine gun, targeting Tyquian Terrel Bowman, known as Quando Rondo. Saviay’a Robinson, Bowman's cousin, was killed. Prosecutors allege Banks used coded language to hire hitmen from his Only the Family crew in retaliation for the 2020 shooting death of his friend and protégé, Dayvon Bennett, known as King Von. Banks was arrested in October 2024 and has pleaded not guilty.
Earlier, the judge allowed prosecutors to introduce lyrics from Banks' songs, including the 2021 remix of "Who Wants Smoke?" with Nardo Wick and "Ahhh Ha" from 2022, as evidence of tensions with Bowman. Prosecutors have abandoned claims linking Banks to a separate 2022 Chicago killing. The use of rap lyrics in court remains controversial, though permitted in federal proceedings.
