Attorneys for the six men charged in rapper FBG Duck’s brazen killing called for a mistrial Wednesday while raising concerns over an FBI agent’s testimony about alleged witness retaliation.
Judge Martha Pacold rejected the request, opting instead to strike the agent’s comments from the record and to instruct jurors to disregard them.
The courtroom drama came after FBI Special Agent Kevin Doyle testified the feds had only sought the cellphone records of three of the suspects because they had concerns about the safety and security of witnesses cooperating with the investigation.
“There had been retaliation against witnesses in the past associated with this group,” Doyle added.
He didn’t have an opportunity to clarify who exactly he was talking about, but defense attorneys surmised he was referring to the O Block faction of the Black Disciples that’s at the center of the case.
On trial are Marcus Smart, 24; Christopher Thomas, 24; Kenneth Roberson, 30; Charles Liggins, 32; Tacarlos Offerd, 32; and Ralph Turpin, 34. They’re described by prosecutors as “members and associates” of the allegedly violent gang set.
Keith Spielfogel, an attorney for Thomas, said he wasn’t informed of the details of the controversial testimony, like other lawyers. Spielfogel argued that simply striking Doyle’s testimony from the record wouldn’t “alleviate the problem that’s been created.”
“It was such an outrageous comment,” Spielfogel said while arguing for a mistrial, “it cannot be cured.”
Lawyers for Roberson and Turpin both noted that prosecutors aren’t alleging their clients are members of O Block, which the government must prove is a criminal enterprise to make its case that the defendants committed the murder in furtherance of racketeering.
Roberson’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, claimed the defendants are now being robbed of a “fair trial” while noting “there was no threat of retaliation of any kind whatsoever.”
During the lengthy arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Julien explained that authorities didn’t seek Thomas’ phone records because they “didn’t want to ‘out’ the witness.”
Julien insisted that he told defense attorneys he was going to ask why the FBI hadn’t sought certain phone records, noting that he was using the testimony to push back on claims the government lacked certain cellphone evidence.
As Pacold shot down the motion, she seemed more concerned with getting the slow-moving trial on track.
“I don’t see that one comment as rising to the level of a mistrial,” she said.
