After appearing for his hearing in a New York City court this morning, 6ix9ine a.k.a Tekashi 69 has been sentenced to 24 months in prison, with five years of supervised release. Upon his release, the rapper is required to complete 300 hours of community service and pay a fine of $35,000. This fate follows several months of federal investigations into a racketeering case involving the Brooklyn rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, and his former gang, the Nine Trey Bloods.
Hernandez faced charges of conspiracy, attempted murder, conspiracy to distribute heroin and four firearms charges, but cooperated with authorities in exchange for potential leniency. It worked, but not to the degree the rapper may have hoped for. While the 23-year-old originally faced anywhere up to 47 years in prison, he is still entering this vastly reduced two-year sentence.
This is an improved distribution of justice for the Dummy Boy rapper, who accepted a far more lenient deal several years ago. In 2015, Hernandez was charged with a felony count for use of a child in a sexual performance. He pled guilty to the charges, yet instead of jail time, he received a four-year probation period and a 1,000-hour community service order.
Presiding Judge Engelmayer was uninterested in this happening again, stating during today’s hearing: “Your first crime, use of a child in a sexual performance, you said the same thing, that older acquaintances were having sexual intercourse with the underaged girl. That excuse may have worked once, but it doesn’t work twice.”
Judge Engelmayer: Your first crime, use of a child in a sexual performance, you said the same thing, that older acquaintances were having sexual intercourse with the underaged girl. That excuse may have worked once, but it doesn’t work twice
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019
Many neglected these past charges as soon as news of his recent arrest and cooperation came to light: Media outlets, social media and radio shows commonly became more preoccupied with his “snitching” behavior than with his criminal record. The Breakfast Club’s Charlamagne Tha God recently revealed he would not be having Hernandez on the show in the future as a result of his “snitching,” with DJ Envy adding, “You decided to tell on everyone that you was just riding on. You turned on everybody. You get released and now you’re rewarded for it?”
Theirs is just one example of a media outlet ousting the rapper for his federal cooperation, and not his sexual misconduct. Hernandez’s lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, even brought up these concerns during this morning’s hearing.
Lazzaro: With respect to Mr. Ellison, that had to do with them kidnapping and robbing Mr. Hernandez. He will always have to have full time security. This is different than the normal cooperator. He’s a target for any gang member. He’s got a life long sentence…
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019
According to Inner City Press, Lazzaro stated: “He will always have to have full time security. This is different than the normal cooperator. He’s a target for any gang member. He’s got a life long sentence.” Hernandez’s lawyer alluded here to the public spectacle that will presumably follow the rapper for the rest of his life.
And while that’s legitimate, it certainly doesn’t negate the lifelong damages he’s contributed to — whether as a former gang member or a convicted child molester.
Editor’s Note: We’re updating this post as we learn more information about 6ix9ine’s sentence.