Racketeering trial over Chicago rapper FBG Duck slaying kicks off, slowly
The federal racketeering trial of six reputed gang members in the 2020 Gold Coast slaying of Chicago rapper FBG Duck got off to a slow start Tuesday, with a pool of about 150 prospective jurors filling out lengthy questionnaires as attorneys continued to argue over the admissibility of key evidence.
U.S. District Judge Martha Pacold said she intends to begin in-court questioning of the jury pool in groups on Thursday, a process that will likely stretch into next week. Opening statements will be given once a regular panel of 12 jurors and six alternates is selected, which may not come until the week of Oct. 23.
As in many gang trials, the jury is being kept anonymous to avoid any potential tampering. Many of the filings detailing cooperating witnesses have also been kept under seal.
Meanwhile, Pacold heard arguments over whether some of those witnesses should be excluded from the trial. One of them, identified only by his initials, “M.W.,” told a federal grand jury that he recognized five of the six defendants in surveillance video of the shooting of FBG Duck, whose real name was Carlton Weekly.
But recently, M.W. has posted YouTube videos claiming he couldn’t identify any of the shooters. Defense attorneys have asked that his testimony be barred.
In response, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Julien said the witness stood by his sworn grand jury statements, which were under oath, and recently told investigators that he posts his YouTube videos to earn money and “some deniability” on the streets, where cooperating with law enforcement is “punishable by death.”
“What (he) says on YouTube is not under oath,” Julien said.
Pacold was scheduled to rule on the motion later. Other outstanding issues included defense complaints about the courtroom layout and whether table skirts would adequately hide the shackles on the defendants’ ankles from the jury.
Charged with murder in furtherance of racketeering are: Charles Liggins, 32; Kenneth Roberson, 29; Christopher Thomas, 24; Marcus Smart, 24; Tacarlos Offerd, 32; and Ralph Turpin, 34. Each defendant faces up to life in prison if convicted.
According to prosecutors, all six defendants are either in or associated with the O-Block gang, a Black Disciples sect headquartered in and around the Parkway Gardens public housing complex at 64th Street and King Drive.
O-Block was a chief rival of Weekly, who was affiliated with the STL faction of the Gangster Disciples, according to prosecutors.
The rivalry hit a fever pitch in July 2020, after Weekly released a song on YouTube titled “Dead Bitches.” A number of witnesses are expected to testify that the song was a “particularly blistering diss record” that disparaged several slain O-Block associates, according to prosecutors.
On the afternoon of Aug. 4, 2020, Weekly was shopping on East Oak Street when he was spotted by Turpin, who allegedly alerted gang associates, according to prosecutors.
Surveillance images captured the other five defendants jumping into two cars in Parkway Gardens and heading to the Gold Coast, where they shot Weekly 16 times and wounded two others, according to the charges.
According to prosecutors, the gang publicly claimed responsibility for acts of violence — including Weekly’s slaying — and used social media and rap lyrics to boast about killing rivals to increase their criminal enterprise.
While other gang trials have seen similar accusations, the O-Block case will shine a particularly bright light on the connections between Chicago’s drill rap scene and street gang activity.
Defense attorneys, meanwhile, plan to argue that there is no proof that the O-Block gang is any kind of criminal enterprise. The defense will also call into question the identifications of Weekly’s shooters, and warn jurors not to trust the testimony of insiders who cut deals with the U.S. attorney’s office to save their own skin.
The trial is expected to last up to two months.