Brooklyn Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine Pleads Guilty To Federal Charges, Admits Ties To Violent Gang
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Brooklyn rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine has pleaded guilty to federal charges, admitting his participation in a violent gang and pledging to cooperate with prosecutors against others.
The plea was entered last week by the rapper, whose legal name is Daniel Hernandez. Information pertaining to it was unsealed Friday in Manhattan federal court.
During the plea, 6ix9ine said he joined the Nine Trey Blood Gang in the fall of 2017. He says he helped gang members try to kill a rival gang member last March.
Prosecutors said the gang carried out acts of murder, robbery and narcotics trafficking in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn since at least 2013.
The indictment added that each gang member was required to participate in at least two acts of racketeering conspiracy. Those acts could include murder, extortion, and drug distribution.
In November, the jailed rapper was deemed a likely danger to the community and denied bail after a prosecutor said there was enough evidence that he directed or participated in multiple acts of violence as part of the deadly gang.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman called the evidence linking 6ix9ine to violent crimes over the last eight months "troubling."
In December, more than 13,000 people signed up to follow a Facebook group aiming to break Tekashi 6ix9ine out of jail in Brooklyn after the rapper was indicted on racketeering and firearms charges.
With the plea deal, 6ix9ine can gain leniency at sentencing from what otherwise would have been a mandatory minimum 47 years in prison if he admits all crimes and testifies truthfully when summoned.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
