Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged five men with murdering a Chicago rapper and injuring two others during a bold daylight shooting outside an Oak Street boutique in August 2020. At least one of the accused men was on bail for state felony gun charges at the time of the shooting.
Kenneth Roberson, 27, is now the 44th person charged with killing, shooting, or trying to kill someone in Chicago last year while on felony bond. In addition, Roberson was charged earlier this year with shooting two women and killing a man in south suburban Dolton — also while on bail for the pending gun case.
Around 4:30 p.m. on August 4, 2020, gunmen opened fire on 26-year-old Carlton “FBG Duck” Weekly as he stood near the entrance to Dolce & Gabbana, 68 East Oak Street. Weekly died from the attack. A 36-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman were also shot and survived.
Police officers first responded to the pricey retail strip about 15 minutes before the shooting when witnesses reported seeing a man chasing another man down the street with a gun, but no shots were fired. The gunman reportedly got into a black sedan that drove away westbound. At the same time, a retail store on the same block reported that two men had run inside their business to hide from someone on the street.
Cops investigating the call declared a “10-1” police emergency at 4:24 p.m. when gunfire erupted on the same stretch of Oak Street. Those shots killed Weekly and injured the other two victims.
Yesterday, federal authorities charged Roberson and four other members of the O-Block street gang with “participating in a criminal organization that murdered [Weekly] and violently protected the gang and its territories on the South Side of Chicago.”
Roberson was on bail at the time of the murder awaiting trial in a 2019 case that involved nine weapons-related felony charges, including multiple counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm while on parole. That parole, which he was also on at the time of Weekly’s murder, was for armed robbery, state records show.
He has been in jail since February 21, the day Cook County prosecutors charged him with murdering a man and shooting two women in Dolton. Prosecutors said during a bond hearing that Roberson and another gunman opened fire on 31-year-old Lorenzo Moore and a van the two women were sitting in after a confrontation at a “makeshift club.”
Moore’s body had “27 bullet holes,” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy told Judge Susana Ortiz during the February hearing. Ortiz ordered Roberson held without bail.
Editor’s note: This report continues our coverage of individuals who have been charged with murder, attempted murder, or trying to kill a person while on bond for a pending felony case. CWBChicago began our series of reports in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly stated, “we haven’t had any horrible incidents occur” under the court’s bond reform initiative.
The actual number of murders and shootings committed by people on felony bail is undoubtedly much higher than the numbers seen here. Since 2017, CPD has made arrests in just 4% of shootings and 31% of murders, according to the city’s data. You can support CWBChicago’s work by becoming a subscriber today.
Previous 2020 cases
- At least 32 people charged with murder in Chicago last year were free on bail at the time of the killings (January 5, 2021)
- #33: We find another man accused of committing murder while on affordable bail in 2020 (January 9, 2021)
- Another man, free on bail for two felonies, charged with killing retired fireman in botched carjacking (January 22, 2021)
- #36: Man killed rival gang member while on bail for felony gun charge, prosecutors say (April 5, 2021)
- #37: Fellow gang member killed rapper Tray Savage while on bond for felony drug case, prosecutors say (April 26, 2021)
- #38: Man killed 20-year-old in Albany Park drive-by, prosecutors say (April 28, 2021)
- #39: No bail for man charged with shooting off-duty CPD officer in Brighton Park robbery attempt (Sun-Times)
- #40: Five-time felon, on electronic monitoring for gun case, killed man during Christmastime home invasion, prosecutors say (June 16, 2021)
- #41: AWOL on felony case for over a year, man’s accused of murdering one, shooting two others (June 30, 2021)
- #42: Man’s charged with two separate shootings while AWOL on burglary charge (September 8, 2021)
- #43: Prosecutors charge man with murdering woman in expressway shooting — while on felony bond (September 22, 2021)