Tekashi 6ix9ine has struck a deal and pleaded guilty to nine federal counts, including racketeering, conspiracy, firearms offenses, and narcotics trafficking, according to TMZ.
The 22-year-old rapper (born Daniel Hernandez) entered the guilty plea on Saturday, January 23rd, but it wasn’t revealed until a federal judge unsealed court documents on Friday.
6ix9ine, along with four associates, was arrested in November 2018 following a five-year federal investigation into the criminal activities of the Bloods street gang known as Nine Trey Bloods, of which 6ix9ine is said to be a member.
He initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, with his lawyer arguing that his “gangster image” was merely part of his act. “An entertainer who portrays a ‘gangster image’ to promote his music does not make him a member of an enterprise,” Lance Lazzaro said.
However, federal prosecutors believed otherwise. Among other offenses, they accused 6ix9ine of being personally involved in multiple armed robberies, shootings, and the distribution of heroin, fentanyl, ecstasy, amphetamines, and marijuana.
“Members and associates of the Enterprise promoted and celebrated the criminal conduct of the Enterprise, namely narcotics distribution, acts involving violence, and the use of firearms, in music and on social media,” the initial indictment read. “The purposes of the Enterprise included preserving and protecting the power, territory, and profits of the Enterprise through acts involving murder… and threats of violence.”
In his guilty plea, 6ix9ine acknowledged that he joined Nine Trey Bloods in the fall of 2017 and admitted to assisting the gang in its attempt to kill a rival gang member. 6ix9ine also said he himself paid an associate to shoot Chief Keef, and also admitted to having taken part in an armed robbery and selling heroin. “I apologize to the Court, to anyone who was hurt, to my family, friends and fans for what I have done and who I have let down,” 6ix9ine said in his plea.
6ix9ine was facing a minimum of 32 years and a maximum of life in prison. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on January 24th, 2020 — it’s unclear how the guilty plea will affect the terms of his punishment.
As part of his guilty plea, 6ix9ine has agreed to cooperate with federal officials “against multiple violent people associated with the same criminal enterprise of which he admits, or will soon apparently admit, being a member,” according to court records. Already he flipped on a former associate and implicated him in the attempted shooting of Chief Keef in June 2018.
This is a developing story…
