Feds Deny Lil Durk’s Request to Split Murder Charges Ahead of Trial

Lil Durk’s legal strategy has hit a major roadblock. As reported by HotNewHipHop, federal prosecutors have officially shut down the Chicago rapper’s attempt to split his murder-for-hire charges or have the case thrown out entirely. Durk’s defense team had petitioned to separate a recently added gang murder charge from the primary murder-for-hire charge tied to the death of Lul Pub. The defense argued that the new charges would delay proceedings and violate Durk’s right to a speedy trial, especially given that he has already spent more than 21 months behind bars since his arrest. The government’s response was swift and unyielding. Prosecutors reminded the court that Durk was actively booking flights when his co-defendants were arrested in Chicago, eventually leading to his own arrest on a private jet tarmac. According to federal filings, because each count shares overlapping evidence, splitting the trials would force vulnerable witnesses to testify twice. This is a critical point for the prosecution, which has already flagged issues with witness tampering, threats to families, and courtroom photos leaking online. Furthermore, prosecutors cited the murder of Stephon Mack, pointing to two men who pleaded guilty in separate federal cases and admitted to trying to collect a bounty from Durk. They also highlighted a text message where Durk allegedly instructed associates to "delete thread and start new one" to evade police. The feds ultimately laid the blame for the long investigation on Durk’s own attempts to conceal evidence. The trial is scheduled to begin next month.