Shortly after rapper FBG Duck died in a hail of bullets on the Gold Coast, his former girlfriend received an unexpected text message.
It contained only three laughing emojis.
The text came from her child’s father, Ralph Turpin, who’s among six members and associates of the O Block faction of the Black Disciples charged in a federal murder and racketeering case stemming from Duck’s slaying on Aug. 4, 2020.
Turpin, 34, is accused of making at least one phone call that drew the other defendants to the swanky shopping district to kill Duck, real name Carlton Weekly. Although prosecutors have linked the shooting to a yearslong gang war, evidence presented at trial indicates that Turpin’s motive for flagging Duck’s location was deeply personal.
Dateisha House testified Wednesday that she and Turpin have a 12-year-old daughter together, and that she dated Duck for roughly three years until April 2020.
Cellphone video taken inside a boutique on Oak Street just minutes before the shooting shows Turpin made a frantic phone call. Turpin referenced Duck and appeared to call House “bogus” for allowing their child to spend time with the rapper.
“It’s over with now, though,” he said in the call.
After watching the shooting, Turpin sent House the message with the emojis. By then, House said, she had minimal contact with Turpin because their daughter had her own phone and could keep in touch with him.
During her grand jury testimony in June 2021, House clearly tied the message to Duck’s killing.
“I think [Turpin] was being evil and just laughing at me because he knew how much I love Duck, and he knew that I was hurt,” she said. “And we’re not friends anymore.”
But when she was asked Wednesday what she thought Turpin meant when he sent the emojis, House demurred. “I didn’t think anything of it,” she said.
Two other people who have known Turpin for much of his life are expected to testify next. One witness has told the feds that Turpin didn’t like Duck and was jealous of his relationship with House, according to a court filing.
Turpin is on trial alongside Marcus Smart, 24; Christopher Thomas, 24; Kenneth Roberson, 30; Charles Liggins, 32; and Tacarlos Offerd, 32.
The mother of Offerd’s child, Tiffany Huff, also took the stand this week, though she made it abundantly clear she didn’t want to be there.
“You forced me to be here,” she told Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Julien on Wednesday, “And you threatened me with jail time through my attorney.”
Huff had been barred from the courtroom after it was revealed that she was regularly sitting in the gallery ahead of her testimony. Earlier this week, Judge Martha Pacold issued an order granting the government’s motion for a material witness warrant for Huff, a move that was apparently aimed at ensuring she’d show up.
Huff testified that she drove to a suburban car dealership shortly after the shooting to pick up Offerd, Smart and another suspect who took his own life. Offerd had returned a Ford Fusion, one of the two getaway cars used in the shooting.
She reluctantly identified Offerd, Smart and the other man from surveillance footage at Parkway Gardens, a sprawling apartment complex that serves as O Block’s stronghold and shares the same nickname.
After she testified, Offerd’s attorney, John Somerville, asked Pacold if she’d allow Huff back in court as an observer.
Julien quickly objected, saying she may be recalled as a witness as the government winds down its case.
