Lil Durk’s Murder-For-Hire Trial To Start Next Month

July 17, 2026

Lil Durk‘s trial in his murder-for-hire case is officially set to begin next month after the rapper’s attorneys successfully severed new gang-related charges the prosecution had attempted to add.

According to documents obtained by XXL on Thursday (July 16), the trial is scheduled to start on Aug. 20. While this was the original date, a recently-filed third superseding indictment with additional charges threatened to delay the proceedings.

The Chicago rapper has been in federal custody since October of 2024, after being charged with paying five men to kill Quando Rondo in the summer of 2022, resulting in the death of Quando’s cousin Saviay’a Robinson. Durk’s legal team spent nearly two years preparing their defense, but in late June, the government introduced additional indictments involving drug trafficking, robbery and an unrelated Atlanta shooting, turning what they prepared for into what they described in documents as an entirely different case.

In response, Durk’s attorneys filed a motion asking the judge to split the new charges away from the original case or throw the additional indictments out because they would have to delay the trial to prepare for them, thus violating his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.

On Tuesday (July 14), Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald granted the Chicago rapper’s motion , ruling that it would be “much simpler” to have one trial focused only on the Los Angeles murder, and then potentially hold a second trial later on the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) gang counts that prosecutors added in June.

He also ordered Durkio’s trial to stay on schedule for the Aug. 20 start date.

Following the ruling, Lil Durk’s attorney, Drew Findling, told XXL, “We are very happy with the court’s order. For 21 months, we have been unwavering in our commitment to Mr. Banks and his innocence and look forward to an Aug. 20, 2026, trial.”

Check out the full court documents confirming the motion to sever the new charges and start trial next month below.