NEWS
Lil Durk and his legal team are looking to get his murder-for-hire case dismissed, claiming that prosecutors misled the jury which indicted him about the facts.
The Chicago rapper is accused of being behind the 2022 attempted murder of Quando Rondo by placing a bounty on his rap rival’s head in revenge for the death of his friend and collaborator King Von.
According to Durk’s attorneys, prosecutors’ claim that the rapper details the alleged attack on Babyface Ray‘s song “Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy” is wrong and that it was written months before the shooting took place.
The government’s misrepresentation in the Superseding Indictment, whether knowing or reckless, undermines the integrity of the grand jury’s true bill against Mr. Banks,” they argue in a new filing. “The Court should dismiss the Superseding Indictment against him as a result.”
In a separate filing asking for Durk to be released from jail ahead of trial, his lawyers claim that prosecutors have “attempted to hold Mr. Banks [Lil Durk] responsible for video clips that YouTubers and Instagram users have edited, produced, and posted to social media, but with whom Mr. Banks has no affiliation.”
The motion specifically mentions a fan-made video which “showing defendant’s [Lil Durk’s] rival [Quando Rondo] screaming, ‘No, no’ that was placed over these lyrics [from ‘Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy’],” which prosecutors then “speculated that perhaps [the song] could be a reference to some other uncharged murder.”
His legal team goes on to say: “It is unfair, misleading, and just flat-out wrong for the government to suggest that Mr. Banks is responsible for these video/audio edits or that they evidence his purported commercialization of a murder that he supposedly ordered.”
A judge has yet to rule on either motion.
Lil Durk has been behind bars since his arrest in October and has already been denied bail once, despite his attorneys proposing a bond package totaling around $3 million in cash and real estate.
Prosecutors had argued that the Grammy-winner had a pattern of “criminal behavior and interference,” which the judge sided with. It was also alleged that Durk had not exactly been following the rules at Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles.
“Despite clear instructions to not engage in three-way calls, defendant repeatedly abused the phone system at MDC to engage in such conduct,” a legal brief read in December.
Durk’s trial is currently scheduled to begin on October 14, 2025, after being pushed back nearly a year.
The “complex” nature of the case was cited among the reasons for the delay, including “approximately 230GB of digital evidence” that prosecutors have to go through, “such as audio/video recordings and surveillance footage, and approximately 20,000 pages of reports concerning murder and other violent acts, photographs, witness statements, and medical documents.”
Durk has maintained his innocence and claimed that prosecutors have “no real evidence” linking him to the attempted murder of Quando Rondo, which resulted in the death of his cousin Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson.
Sharleen Spiteri joined BBC Radio 2’s The Sara Cox Breakfast Show ahead of Texas taking the stage to launch the main live music programme at Radio 2 in the Park in Stirling.
Checking in from rehearsals, the Texas frontwoman spoke about getting ready for the band’s opening performance at City Park. Radio 2’s annual flagship festival takes place there from 11 to 13 September 2026. "I’m match fit because I’ve had a couple of days’ rehearsals," Spiteri said. "We’re kicking the whole weekend off, which we’re very much looking forward to, so everybody’s got to get ready to party."
Before the live acts take over, Friday’s DJ Pre-Party gets the weekend started with Radio 2 favourites Sara Cox, DJ Spoony, Gary Davies, Michelle Visage, and Rylan behind the decks.
Jo Whiley helped set the mood with a special programme from Stirling’s Tolbooth venue. Working with BBC Introducing Scotland, the broadcast put the spotlight on Scotland’s emerging music scene through performances and conversations with Fright Years, Alice Faye, and James Emmanuel.
Fright Years, a four member band from Edinburgh, played "Never Been Wrong" and offered their take on Simple Minds’ "Waterfront." Glasgow singer and songwriter Alice Faye, the BBC Introducing in Scotland 2026 winner, paired "Some Brief Encounter" with a rendition of Lulu’s arrangement of "I Started a Joke." James Emmanuel, who was born in Nigeria and now lives in Edinburgh, sang "Brothers & Sisters" before taking on Chaka Khan’s "I’m Every Woman."
"We’re all about celebrating BBC Introducing and all the music that’s come out of Scotland," Whiley told listeners. "It's about celebrating the local music scene and the incredibly important work that BBC Introducing does to support independent, up-and-coming artists."
Joining the conversation were Stephanie Cheape, presenter of BBC Introducing in Scotland, Tara McLoughlin, venue manager for Stirling Council, and student radio presenters representing the University of Stirling’s Air3 Radio.
Listeners can catch the complete interviews and live performances from the weekend’s programmes on BBC Sounds.
