Tekashi 6ix9ine (Daniel Hernandez) was arrested Tuesday (Oct. 29) on allegations that he violated the terms of a plea deal struck with prosecutors after the rapper agreed to testify against his former gang members in Brooklyn.
The rapper was arraigned in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday for alleged violations of his supervised release, which is set to expire in April 2025. According to court records, Tekashi pleaded not guilty to the new violations and was ordered to remain in custody until the next court date.
In a statement to Bulletin boardTekashi's lawyer Lance Lazaro he said his client had been “charged with three technical violations related to his supervised release” and that he was “certain that each count will be dismissed.”
Tekashi was originally indicted in 2018 on federal charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder for his involvement in a New York street gang called the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods. He then famously attacked the gang and provided bombshell testimony in exchange for a plea deal that saw him serve just two years in prison and five years on supervised release.
At Tuesday's hearing, prosecutors argued that Tekashi violated the terms of his release by traveling to Las Vegas without permission, failing a drug test and testing positive for methamphetamine, according to Matthew Russell Lee's Inner City Press.
The hearing included arguments from Lazzaro that the failed drug test was from the use of prescription Adderall, according to Josh Russell's Court News — but the judge was apparently unfazed, citing a “broader pattern” of misconduct during the release that he said indicated a “full-range violation of the law.”
Tekashi's next court date is an evidentiary hearing set for November 12.
Once a rising star in the world of hip-hop and social media, Tekashi was indicted in November 2018 along with several other members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, who prosecutors claimed “wreaked havoc on New York City” by “engaging in brazen acts violence.”
But just a day after his arrest, Hernandez struck a deal with federal prosecutors to drop his crew in exchange for leniency. Taking the witness stand during a trial in 2019, he offered detailed and candid testimony about his gang involvement and former teammates.
Under the deal with prosecutors, Tekashi was sentenced to two years in prison and five years of supervised release and was ordered to serve 1,000 hours of community service and pay a $35,000 fine.
The prison sentence was to last until July 2020, but Hernandez was released early in April 2020 after his lawyers argued that the COVID-19 pandemic posed an increased risk to him because he suffers from asthma.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/pro/tekashi-6ix9ine-arrested-charged-violating-parole/
