Lil Durk is calling foul on federal prosecutors, claiming they’ve completely overhauled their case against him just weeks before trial. According to legal documents obtained by BlkCosmo, the rapper’s legal team says this last-minute shift violates his right to adequate defense preparation, and they’re asking the judge to either sever the new charges or dismiss the entire indictment altogether.
The core case centers on the 2022 killing of rapper Quando Rondo’s cousin in Los Angeles, which prosecutors have tied to a murder-for-hire plot. Lil Durk‘s defense team, led by attorneys Drew Findling and Brian Steel, says they’ve spent 19 months preparing to defend against murder-for-hire charges. Then prosecutors suddenly added drug trafficking, robbery allegations, and resurrected an old Atlanta shooting—transforming the case into something entirely different.
What really stuck in their craw: prosecutors brought back evidence tied to a January 2022 Chicago killing after telling the court for months they weren’t pursuing it. This means Durk’s team essentially needs to prepare a new defense strategy with the trial clock ticking down to August.
Durk’s legal team is asking the judge for one of two outcomes: either split the newly added charges away from the original murder-for-hire case so the August trial can proceed as planned, or dismiss the entire indictment based on violations of his speedy trial rights given how long the case has already dragged on.
Durk was arrested in Florida in October 2024. Prosecutors allege he orchestrated a revenge killing targeting Quando Rondo in retaliation for Chicago rapper King Von’s death. The intended target reportedly survived the shooting, but Quando’s cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, was killed in the incident.
The judge hasn’t ruled on Durk’s request yet.
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