Lil Durk was denied bond for a second time on Monday, as U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald issued a five-page ruling rejecting the rapper’s $4.5 million bail proposal.
Durk’s legal team offered a substantial bail package that included $4.5 million in cash, 24-hour home detention, electronic monitoring, and a private security detail. Still, the judge remained unconvinced.
In his written order, Judge Fitzgerald explained, “The main problem here is that, based on information in the sealed Pretrial Service Reports, the proffered funds are only a fraction of the defendant’s net worth.”
The judge emphasized the seriousness of the charges, noting that Durk faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole if convicted. Fitzgerald wrote that such a high-stakes outcome “would make any innocent defendant consider flight as the rational alternative.”
He also pointed to Durk’s purchase of plane tickets to Dubai prior to his arrest, which prosecutors argued suggested an intent to flee—an assumption Fitzgerald said had not been convincingly refuted.
While the judge acknowledged that Durk’s proposed bail package was “going in the right direction,” he said it still fell short. He suggested that putting up the rapper’s full net worth, including “intellectual property rights in all of the music,” might demonstrate a stronger commitment to staying and facing trial.
Durk has pleaded not guilty to being the alleged mastermind behind a murder-for-hire plot targeting fellow rapper Tyquian Terrel Bowman, known as Quando Rondo. The alleged incident occurred on August 19, 2022, and resulted in the death of Bowman’s cousin, Saviay’a Robinson, who was shot while traveling with him.
Durk remains in federal custody as the case continues to unfold.
Source: Rolling Stone
