Lil Durk gets trial date after pleading not guilty to murder-for-hire charges

nme.com:

Lil Durk has pleaded not guilty to charges he directed a murder-for-hire plot.The Chicago-born rapper, real name Durk Devontay Banks, entered his plea on Thursday (November 14), and pleaded not guilty to charges that he directed a murder-for-hire plot which led to the shooting death of Georgia rapper Quando Rondo’s cousin two years ago.Per Rolling Stone, he was remanded to a federal detention centre in Los Angeles after receiving a trial date of January 7, 2025, as a spokesman with the US Attorney’s Office confirmed.“Mr.

Banks is charged with orchestrating a cold-blooded murder that resulted in the death of a rival’s family member,” US Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement.“Not only that, the shooting occurred in the open, at a gas station at a busy intersection, endangering many others in the area.

Violent gun crime of this sort is devastating to our community and we will have zero-tolerance for those who perpetrate such callous acts of violence.”Prosecutors have asked that Banks be held until trial due to a “serious risk [that the] defendant will flee”, with the filings claiming Banks attempted to board a private jet before he was arrested last month – and was also booked on separate one-way flights to Switzerland and Dubai and on the same day.Defense attorney Drew Findling, who has worked with high-profile figures including Cardi B, NBA YoungBoy and Donald Trump, has filed to appear as one of Banks’ lawyers.

The artist is due back in court on November 25 for a status conference, with a detention hearing slated for December 2.The ‘Pelle Coat’ rapper was first arrested in Florida in October and was held in a Broward County, Florida jail, as initially reported by USA Today.The arrest came hours after five other.