Rapper FBG Duck was gunned down on the Gold Coast as part of a yearslong gang war fueled by violent diss tracks, prosecutors said Friday during closing arguments in a federal trial beset by delays and troubling testimony from key witnesses.
All six defendants “wanted Carlton Weekly dead,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Marie Ursini, using Duck’s real name while describing him as a “top rival” of the O Block faction of the Black Disciples.
“They hunted Carlton Weekly down and they brutally executed him in the street when he was out shopping for his son,” Ursini told jurors.
The government’s case hinges on proving O Block is a criminal enterprise that has been locked in a violent conflict with Duck’s Tookaville faction of the Gangster Disciples. On trial are Marcus Smart, 24; Christopher Thomas, 24; Kenneth Roberson, 30; Charles Liggins, 32; Tacarlos Offerd, 32; and Ralph Turpin, 34.
All the defendants are charged with murder in aid of racketeering and conspiring to kill Duck. Except for Turpin, the defendants face five additional counts for using firearms to carry out the killing and wounding two others in the attack.
“They each played a part in [Duck’s] murder,” Ursini said. “Some were shooters, some were drivers and Ralph Turpin provided Carlton Weekly’s location.”
After seeing hundreds of exhibits and hearing testimony from more than 30 witnesses, the jury on Friday heard the government’s most thorough breakdown of its case.
Ursini said Turpin initially spotted Duck at a high-end children’s clothing store on Oak Street and alerted a gang associate less than a half-hour before gunfire rocked the swanky shopping district.
Within three minutes of that call, the other defendants began scrambling and quickly tore out of Parkway Gardens, an apartment complex in Woodlawn that’s also known as O Block. Witnesses identified all five from surveillance footage from the sprawling facility.
Liggins and Thomas allegedly rode in Roberson’s Chrysler 300, while Offerd drove his Ford Fusion carrying Smart and Ezell Rawls, an alleged gunman who took his own life during the investigation.
Police POD cameras and license plate readers tracked the cars traveling together to the shooting scene, Ursini said, and Roberson’s cellphone data charted a similar path.
When they pulled up to Dolce & Gabbana at 68 E. Oak St., the four passengers hopped out and started shooting, hitting Duck 16 times as he tried to flee. Another shopper was struck multiple times, and Duck’s girlfriend was shot in the wrist as she tried to fire back.
Turpin remained on the scene after the shooting and appeared to be updating gang associates, Ursini said. Turpin had “a personal motive,” she said, noting he was upset about Duck dating his child’s mother and had sent her a text message with three laughing emojis after the shooting.
Offerd, Smart and Rawls returned the Fusion to a suburban car dealership after the shooting. Roberson’s 300 was seized by Chicago police a day later, and a shell casing matching evidence at the scene was found in the windshield well.
To prove O Block is an organized criminal enterprise, a key factor in the case, Ursini pointed to testimony about other murders the faction allegedly carried out against Tookaville members.
Looming over the case is rapper King Von, real name Dayvon Bennett, who allegedly placed a bounty on Duck’s head and purchased diamond O Block pendants for some of the defendants.
Rap superstars Lil Durk and Chief Keef also were implicated in the case as O Block allies, though one witness testified Keef had a dramatic falling out with the crew when he failed to contribute to a bond fund for its members.
Von and Duck had directed diss tracks at each other that culminated in Duck’s “Dead Bitches,” a scathing song released less than a month before his shooting. It mocked fallen O Block members and associates, including Liggins’ brother.
Prosecutors relied on a series of witnesses with questionable backgrounds to make their case, including an O Block member who lied about his brother being killed to avoid testimony and two gangbangers-turned-YouTubers who sparred with defense attorneys and offered conflicting statements.
In his closing argument, Steve Greenberg, one of Roberson’s attorneys, alleged some witnesses were merely telling prosecutors what they wanted to hear because they’d cut deals with the government. “Liars don’t become truthful just because they take an oath to tell the truth,” Greenberg told jurors.
He insisted the government’s case was weak but failed to push back on some of the strongest evidence against his client. He insisted O Block isn’t a gang faction, and hammered at the fact that no one accused Roberson of being a member. He also claimed his client’s drug dealing had nothing to do with the faction.
“You can’t maintain or increase your position in something you’re not in,” Greenberg said.
Other defense teams are expected to give their closing statements Monday.
