A prospective juror in Lil Durk’s federal murder-for-hire trial was dismissed Friday after he told the court the defendants looked guilty before a single piece of evidence had been presented.
Juror No. 18 admitted he could not judge the case fairly, with his opinion formed purely from looking at Lil Durk and the other defendants sitting in the courtroom.
Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald removed the man from the pool, and the incident added another layer of delay to a selection process that was already moving slower than anyone anticipated.
By Friday, the court had only worked through about 40 percent of the current group of prospective jurors, which made opening statements that afternoon look increasingly unlikely.
The trial formally kicked off Thursday, August 20, with roughly 80 prospective jurors entering the process at the Los Angeles federal courthouse.
The court needs 12 jurors and four alternates seated before testimony can begin, and Thursday ended without that panel being completed.
Lil Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, has pleaded not guilty to six federal counts connected to an alleged paid attack on rapper Quando Rondo.
Prosecutors say Durk arranged the hit after King Von was killed during a 2020 confrontation in Atlanta involving Quando, framing the August 2022 shooting near Beverly Center in Los Angeles as retaliation.
Quando survived that shooting, but Saviay’a Robinson, known as Lul Pab, died after gunfire struck the vehicle carrying both men.
The charges Durk faces include stalking, murder-for-hire, and gun counts, one of which specifically accuses the defendants of using a machine gun during a violent crime tied to the alleged cross-state plot.
The defense’s position is straightforward: Durk denies arranging any of it. His legal team will have the chance to make that case directly to jurors once a full panel is finally seated, though that moment keeps getting pushed further down the timeline.
What makes this trial even more layered is that it is not the only federal case Durk is facing. Judge Fitzgerald previously separated racketeering allegations connected to the 2022 killing of Stephon Mack in Chicago from the Los Angeles proceedings, meaning Durk is looking at a second federal trial after this one concludes. That Chicago case has not been scheduled yet.
The earlier plan had opening statements starting around 2 p.m. Friday after the lunch break, but the pace of screening made that a long shot.
Attorneys on both sides are still working through prospective jurors, looking for anyone whose opinions, background, or knowledge of the case might compromise a fair hearing.
The dismissed juror’s comments are a reminder of how much public attention surrounds this case and how difficult it can be to find people who have not already formed a view. Jury selection continues, and the courtroom is nowhere near done.
