NEW YORK – In a recent development, rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, known offstage as Daniel Hernandez, has been handed an additional three-month prison sentence. The ruling comes as a consequence of his violation of supervised release terms related to a notorious gang case in New York, including assault and drug possession offenses.
Appearing in Manhattan’s federal court, the 29-year-old Brooklyn native admitted to these violations. Judge Paul Engelmayer, visibly frustrated with Hernandez’s repeated legal troubles, highlighted the rapper’s apparent disregard for rules, noting his prior 45-day sentence for similar infractions late last year.
“From time to time your actions suggest that you believe that ordinary rules don’t apply to you,” Judge Engelmayer remarked, emphasizing the need for another prison stint to drive home the seriousness of the situation to Hernandez.
Hernandez, who rocketed to fame with his 2017 hit “Gummo,” took the opportunity to address the court with an extensive speech. He recounted numerous instances of harassment and threats directed at him and his family, a fallout from his decision to cooperate with authorities in the gang case.
“Unknown individuals left a coffin in front of my house with an animal in it to send me a message,” Hernandez revealed. He also recounted a terrifying incident where “three masked gunmen held my mom at gunpoint.”
Back in 2018, Hernandez pleaded guilty to his role in the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, a violent gang based in New York. His cooperation with law enforcement in the racketeering case against fellow gang members earned him a relatively lenient sentence in 2019: two years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
He was even released from federal prison several months early during the height of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Friday’s sentence was related to small amounts of cocaine and ecstasy being found at the rapper’s Miami home during a police raid in March, and his punching a man who taunted him at a Florida mall in August over his cooperation against gang members. His lawyer had requested six months of home confinement for the violations.
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