The jury hearing Lil Durk’s federal case wants to know how much longer it will be in court, and the question has now come up more than once. On Wednesday, the judge read a note written by the court clerk about a question coming from jurors in the Lil Durk trial. The note said: “Jurors asked about trial date again,” with the word “again” underlined.
That emphasis immediately drew attention because it showed jurors had previously asked when the trial would wrap up. Jurors also raised the timing issue Wednesday as testimony in the closely watched federal case stretched into its second week.
U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald gave the courtroom a tentative answer. Based on the current pace of testimony, he estimated that jurors will likely begin deliberating Tuesday, September 8, or Wednesday, September 9. The judge said he expects to have a clearer picture by the end of Friday.
Monday is Labor Day, meaning the next major stage of the Lil Durk trial could begin shortly after the holiday. Prosecutors were nearing the end of their witness list while defense attorneys expected to complete remaining questioning and begin presenting their side of the case.
The judge also noted that jurors had been joking with one another in the hallway and appeared to be in a better mood after getting an estimated end date.
Still, the repeated question about timing should not automatically be read as a sign that jurors have made up their minds about Durk or any of his codefendants. The questions are coming as the Lil Durk trial reaches a crucial stage nearly two weeks after jury selection began August 20. According to the Los Angeles Times, opening statements began August 24 before Fitzgerald in federal court in downtown Los Angeles. Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, is being tried alongside Deandre “DeDe” Wilson and David “Browneyez” Lindsey. Banks has pleaded not guilty.
The case centers on the August 2022 shooting death of Saviay’a Robinson, the cousin of rapper Quando Rondo, whose legal name is Tyquian Bowman.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, prosecutors allege Bowman was the intended target of a group that tracked him through Los Angeles before gunmen opened fire on the vehicle carrying Bowman and Robinson near the Beverly Center. Federal prosecutors said at least 18 rounds were fired and Robinson was killed.
Prosecutors allege the attack was retaliation connected to the November 2020 killing of Durk’s close friend and fellow Only The Family artist Dayvon “King Von” Bennett. The Justice Department alleged that Durk put a bounty on Bowman and used OTF-related money to help finance the trip and other expenses connected to the alleged plot. Those allegations remain disputed, and Banks has denied involvement.
The defense has presented a sharply different version of events.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Durk attorney Marissa Goldberg told jurors that former Durk assistant Kavon Grant was actually responsible for organizing the plot and later blamed Banks after investigators began closing in on him. Grant is among several defendants who reached plea agreements and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Goldberg told jurors that Grant saw an opportunity once authorities focused on him, saying, “He thought, ‘Oh, man, I got an insurance policy. I got a big fish I can give them, so they won’t look at all of these things that I did.’”
The government, meanwhile, has relied heavily on testimony and communications it says connect Durk to the alleged retaliation. ABC7 Los Angeles reported this week that one admitted participant testified that Banks set up the attack, while Durk’s attorneys continued challenging the government’s witnesses and its interpretation of his statements.
With testimony approaching its conclusion, jurors now have at least a tentative answer to the question they have apparently been asking repeatedly. If the schedule holds, closing arguments and deliberations could put the Lil Durk trial in their hands as early as next week.
