Tekashi 6ix9ine pleads guilty in federal court to gang charges
Embattled rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine has pleaded guilty to nine federal charges, and apparently admitted to ordering a hit on rap rival, according to court documents unsealed Friday.
The records from a Manhattan federal court show that 6ix9ine — real name Daniel Hernandez — pleaded guilty January 23 to gun charges, drug trafficking, conspiracy and racketeering. The counts stem from an indictment issued in November 2018 against 6ix9ine, his former manager and three others allegedly tied to the Nine Trey Blood Gang.
Prosecutors said members of the gang shot and assaulted rivals while expanding a drug operation that funneled heroin, fentanyl and MDMA around New York. 6ix9ine will now be cooperating in the case against the gang.
"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," he said in his plea.
6ix9ine admitted to being a member of Nine Trey. He said he helped other members rob people at gunpoint, sell drugs and even attempt to kill someone in a rival gang. He also admitted that he "aided and abetted" a shooting at a rival last year in a Times Square hotel to "scare him." The details of that shooting in the court documents match an incident last year in which someone shot at the rapper Chief Keef and missed him. Chief Keef is not mentioned directly in the plea.
6ix9ine faced 47 years to life in prison for the charges, and it's unclear how his cooperation could affect his eventual sentence. He has not issued a statement about the plea and his attorney could not immediately be reached. The rapper is set to be sentenced in January 2020.
The 22-year-old Brooklyn rapper, known for his social media antics as much as his music, has faced mounting legal problems for years, including pleading guilty in 2015 to one federal count of use of a child in a sexual performance. He was sentenced to four years probation in that case. 6ix9ine has also been targeted for violence several times himself, including an incident last July in which three men kidnapped, assaulted and robbed him in Brooklyn after a music video shoot.
