Lil Durk wins motion to exclude Chicago racketeering charges from Los Angeles murder-for-hire trial
Lil Durk has won his motion to sever new charges from his murder-for-hire trial.
The Chicago rapper is set to go to trial on August 20th after being accused of conspiring with others to kill Quando Rondo, resulting in the death of his cousin, Lul Pab, in Los Angeles in 2022.
However, in June, Durk was hit with new charges of murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit stalking, in relation to a Chicago killing, also in 2022.
According to Rolling Stone, the judge granted his request to separate the fresh charges from his upcoming trial on July 14th.
In his decision, US District Court Judge Michael W Fitzgerald said, “It has been and remains the court’s intention that the Los Angeles trial will include all admissible evidence that is not unduly prejudicial.”
Fitzgerald claimed that prosecutors “chose to withdraw evidence of the Chicago incident” earlier in the case.
“If you felt so strongly, why not persist in getting a ruling from me that the Chicago incident should be brought before the jury?” the judge asked. “This third superseding indictment, indisputably, is just a very clever attempt at having the Chicago tail wag the Los Angeles dog.”
He added, “You think you will have a better chance to win if the Chicago incident is tried with the Los Angeles murder. It’s obvious. You treat that as a feature, and I treat that as a bug. I’m concerned it’s going to be unfair … I’m here to make sure both sides have a fair trial.”
Reacting to the judge’s decision, Durk’s lawyer, Drew Findling, said, “We are very happy with the court’s order. For 21 months, we have been unwavering in our commitment to [Durk] and his innocence, and we look forward to an August 20th, 2026, trial.”