Judge denies Lil Durk bail in murder-for-hire case, citing rapper's calls from jail

Brittny Mejia and Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times on May 8, 2025

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LOS ANGELES — A federal judge ordered that rapper Lil Durk remain behind bars pending his trial on murder-for-hire charges, citing a report that he is violating jail rules by using other inmates’ phone accounts and engaging in three-way calls.

During a bail review hearing Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue said the rapper, whose legal name is Durk Devontay Banks, showed “a disrespect for the rules,” by using 13 other inmates’ phone accounts at L.A.’s Metropolitan Detention Center.

Drew Findling, Banks’ attorney, argued that other inmates have done the same thing and said the defense team didn’t “see it as an issue” that would prevent his release. He also told the judge that Banks, who was wearing a white prayer cap, was committed “to his Muslim faith.”

Banks, 32, is accused of ordering the murder of Tyquian Bowman, a Georgia rapper called Quando Rondo, whose cousin was killed in a botched ambush near the Beverly Center mall in Los Angeles in 2022. Banks has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Last week, prosecutors filed a superseding indictment that added a stalking resulting in death charge. That indictment removed prior references to lyrics it had previously said Banks used to commercialize the shooting death.

Prosecutors previously said Banks had rapped about his revenge “with music that explicitly references audio from a news clip” of Bowman screaming, “No, no!” after seeing his cousin’s body.

At a December detention hearing, Findling told the court that the song prosecutors referenced was recorded eight months before the shooting.

During the Thursday hearing, Findling focused on the removal of those lyrics from the indictment, calling it “provably false” that his client had “monetized and celebrated the death at the heart of this case.”

“This murder case is not about defendant’s lyrics and it’s not about his music. It’s about his conduct,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Ian Yanniello told the judge.

Yanniello said the defense team had failed to provide new information that undermined the judge’s original December ruling that Banks be detained. Referencing the jail calls, Yanniello said Banks “will not follow the rules.”

Findling repeatedly referred to the allegations against his client as “sweeping generalizations.”

“If you are going to allege dangerousness, there has to be some specifics,” Findling told the judge.

Although Findling said Banks was willing to hire around-the-clock security to ensure compliance with conditions imposed by the court, the judge questioned whether the guards would be willing to report the person paying them.

After the hearing, Findling said the case against his client “all comes down to one out of context text message.”

“We feel that a 32 year-old man with no record should be entitled to time outside of the jail cell that he can spend with his family and colleagues,” he said.

Banks’ trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 14.