Five alleged members of a street gang in Chicago have been charged in the murder of local rapper FBG Duck last year, according to a federal indictment released Wednesday.
The five Chicago residents, part of the O-Block street gang, were charged with "committing murder in aid of racketeering," according to federal authorities. The charge is in connection with the murder of Carlton Weekly, a Chicago rapper also known as FBG Duck.
The popular rapper was shot and killed outside of a retail store in the Gold Coast neighborhood in August. He was one of three people shot when a group of four got out of two cars in the first block of East Oak Street in Chicago and opened fire, police said.
Thirty-year-old Charles Liggins, also known as "C Murda"; Kenneth Roberson, also known as 28-year-old "Kenny Mac"; 30-year-old Tacarlos Offerd, also known as "Los"; Christopher Thomas, 22, also known as "C Thang"; and Marcus Smart, also known as "Muwop," also 22, were all charged in the indictment.
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Liggins, Offerd, Thomas and Smart were arrested Wednesday morning and were expected in court that same afternoon, authorities said. Roberson, meanwhile, was in the custody of the Cook County Department of Corrections and will make a court appearance at a later date.
According to the indictment, the O-Block gang publicly claimed responsibility for numerous "acts of violence" in Chicago and used social media to "increase their criminal enterprise."
“There are now five people in custody who weren’t in custody before. Five people who were alleged to have committed a murder in broad daylight in the city of Chicago," said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch. "Now it’s known to them and it’s known to anybody else who might be committing similar acts of brazen violence and who may brag about it or not brag about it that their day has come.”
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The five members were also charged with federal firearm violations and assaults in aid of racketeering, according to Lausch.
Authorities had said that Weekly was also an alleged gang member in Chicago.
“This is an individual who fancies himself as a rapper but is also a member of a gang. There’s been an ongoing conflict between his gang and another,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at the time. “He was live streaming his travels through the city, and he was found."
Lightfoot said the shooting highlights "a larger problem."
"Too many young men and particularly young men of color, have access to guns and are willing to use those guns to settle petty grievances," she said.
Details of the conflict between the two gangs have not been released.
"It shows you what’s happening in this city," Lausch said. "It shows you exactly what’s happening in this city, which is that people are threatening to commit acts of violence and then bragging about acts of violence or talking about how they’re going to retaliate for other acts of violence.”
Lausch said the charges brought in the indictment are "significant."
"If this gives pause, even one minute of pause, for somebody who might think it’s a cool thing to do, to get on video, to bring on some guns, talk about how I’m going to shoot somebody- if this brings pause to them, then we’re doing something good," he said.
