In May, 2019, Lil Durk turned himself in to authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with a February 2019 shooting outside of an Atlanta restaurant called the Varsity. At the time, a Fulton County, Georgia judge found probable cause to charge Durk and since-deceased rapper King Von with criminal attempt to commit murder, as well as aggravated assault, participation in criminal street gang activity, possession of firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of firearm by a convicted felon. Now, the charges against Durk have been dropped, local ABC affiliate WSB-TV reports and Pitchfork can confirm.
In a Dismissal of Charges Motion issued by Georgia’s Superior Court of Fulton County, District Attorney Fani T. Willis writes that “the facts of this case have been reviewed and, although it appears that probable cause existed for the defendant’s arrest, the decision of the District Attorney at this time is not to prosecute.” The reasoning given for the decision is: “prosecutorial discretion.”
“While it took three years for the State to make the right decision, in the end the right decision was made and Mr. Banks can finally put this event behind him,” Durk’s (whose birth name is Durk Banks) attorney Manny Arora told WSB-TV in a statement. Durk added: “I have nothing to hide. I have nothing to run from.” Durk offered no further comment when reached by Pitchfork.
Following the news that a warrant had been issued for Durk’s arrest on May 29, 2019, the rapper uploaded a post on Instagram revealing plans to turn himself in to authorities. The following day, Durk posted a song to his official SoundCloud page titled “Turn Myself In.” In the song, Durk addressed his legal situation.“False accusations why they name droppin’,” Durk rapped. “They wanna know if I’m rapping or robbing/Taking these drugs for family problems.” He also sings that he is “an innocent man for sure.”
