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| Tekashi69 Sentenced to 2 Years After Testifying Against Nine Trey Gang | Tekashi69 Sentenced to 2 Years After Testifying Against Nine Trey Gang |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The rapper and Instagram star Tekashi69 was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday by a federal judge who gave him credit for pleading guilty and helping prosecutors send several of his former gang associates in the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods to prison. | The rapper and Instagram star Tekashi69 was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday by a federal judge who gave him credit for pleading guilty and helping prosecutors send several of his former gang associates in the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods to prison. |
| The performer, who is also known as 6ix9ine and whose legal name is Daniel Hernandez, has already spent nearly 13 months in a federal jail and that time will count toward his sentence. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan had described his cooperation against members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods as “extraordinary” and “extremely useful.” | The performer, who is also known as 6ix9ine and whose legal name is Daniel Hernandez, has already spent nearly 13 months in a federal jail and that time will count toward his sentence. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan had described his cooperation against members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods as “extraordinary” and “extremely useful.” |
| But the judge, Paul A. Engelmayer, said the conduct Mr. Hernandez admitted to was too serious to justify his immediate release from custody, which his lawyer had sought. | But the judge, Paul A. Engelmayer, said the conduct Mr. Hernandez admitted to was too serious to justify his immediate release from custody, which his lawyer had sought. |
| “Your conduct was too violent, too sustained, too destructive, too selfish and too reckless with respect to public safety to make a sentence of 13 months at all reasonable,” the judge said, listing the litany of shootings and robberies that Mr. Hernandez, 23, had admitted to being a part of. | “Your conduct was too violent, too sustained, too destructive, too selfish and too reckless with respect to public safety to make a sentence of 13 months at all reasonable,” the judge said, listing the litany of shootings and robberies that Mr. Hernandez, 23, had admitted to being a part of. |
| Plenty of recording artists use gang and organized crime motifs in their music, the judge acknowledged, but few actually participate. | Plenty of recording artists use gang and organized crime motifs in their music, the judge acknowledged, but few actually participate. |
| “Bruce Springsteen sang about ‘Murder Incorporated.’ You, Mr. Hernandez, essentially joined Murder Incorporated,” the judge said. | |
| Mr. Hernandez — his signature rainbow-hair-dye long grown out — seemed attentive and engaged across the nearly three-hour hearing. He nodded as the judge spoke, and he offered an emotional apology to a woman who spoke about being shot during one of his crimes. | Mr. Hernandez — his signature rainbow-hair-dye long grown out — seemed attentive and engaged across the nearly three-hour hearing. He nodded as the judge spoke, and he offered an emotional apology to a woman who spoke about being shot during one of his crimes. |
| “I know I was wrong,” he said through tears. “I was weak. I was easily influenced. I can’t believe that was me. Again, your honor, there is no apology good enough.” | “I know I was wrong,” he said through tears. “I was weak. I was easily influenced. I can’t believe that was me. Again, your honor, there is no apology good enough.” |
| The sentence was a significant departure from the 37 years Mr. Hernandez faced, which the judge attributed to the rapper’s cooperation with government prosecutors. | The sentence was a significant departure from the 37 years Mr. Hernandez faced, which the judge attributed to the rapper’s cooperation with government prosecutors. |
| “Your cooperation was impressive. It was game-changing. It was complete and it was brave,” the judge told Mr. Hernandez. It has “brought out the best in you, and you should be proud of yourself for it.” | |
| Mr. Hernandez, who was raised in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, faces an uncertain future. Prosecutors have told the judge that his cooperation against the Nine Trey gang came at great risk to him and his family. | |
| “Certain things people take for granted — going into a store, going to the movies, things of that nature — Mr. Hernandez will have to think strategically about,” Michael D. Longyear, a prosecutor, said in court on Wednesday. “He’ll have to look over his shoulder.” | “Certain things people take for granted — going into a store, going to the movies, things of that nature — Mr. Hernandez will have to think strategically about,” Michael D. Longyear, a prosecutor, said in court on Wednesday. “He’ll have to look over his shoulder.” |
| Mr. Hernandez has signaled that upon his release, he is not interested in the federal witness protection program, telling the court that he intends to keep performing and making music. In December, he signed a $10 million record deal, which the judge pointed to in court. | Mr. Hernandez has signaled that upon his release, he is not interested in the federal witness protection program, telling the court that he intends to keep performing and making music. In December, he signed a $10 million record deal, which the judge pointed to in court. |
| The sentencing of Mr. Hernandez ended a bizarre, full-circle reinvention for Tekashi69, who had spent years fashioning a public persona as the bane of law enforcement. | |
| With his face tattoos and distinctive hair color, Mr. Hernandez once live-streamed videos of himself with guns to millions of his followers, goaded gang enemies into beefs on Instagram and taunted the authorities on Snapchat. | With his face tattoos and distinctive hair color, Mr. Hernandez once live-streamed videos of himself with guns to millions of his followers, goaded gang enemies into beefs on Instagram and taunted the authorities on Snapchat. |
| But that facade crumbled when Mr. Hernandez was arrested on firearms and racketeering charges in November 2018. | But that facade crumbled when Mr. Hernandez was arrested on firearms and racketeering charges in November 2018. |
| The next day, Mr. Hernandez began talking with the government, ultimately agreeing to plead guilty and testify for the prosecution against his former crew. | The next day, Mr. Hernandez began talking with the government, ultimately agreeing to plead guilty and testify for the prosecution against his former crew. |
| One of Mr. Hernandez’s lawyers, Lance Lazzaro, told the judge that his client had met with prosecutors more than two dozen times. | One of Mr. Hernandez’s lawyers, Lance Lazzaro, told the judge that his client had met with prosecutors more than two dozen times. |
| During his statement to the court, Mr. Hernandez appeared to break down after glancing at the audience. He explained to Judge Engelmayer that he had spotted his biological father in the courtroom. It was, Mr. Hernandez said, the first time he had seen the man since third grade. | During his statement to the court, Mr. Hernandez appeared to break down after glancing at the audience. He explained to Judge Engelmayer that he had spotted his biological father in the courtroom. It was, Mr. Hernandez said, the first time he had seen the man since third grade. |
| The man later identified himself as Mr. Hernandez’s biological father and tried to take the podium, but the judge would not allow him. “It is way too late,” Judge Engelmayer. “You squandered that many, many years ago.” | The man later identified himself as Mr. Hernandez’s biological father and tried to take the podium, but the judge would not allow him. “It is way too late,” Judge Engelmayer. “You squandered that many, many years ago.” |
| Mr. Hernandez’s turn on the witness stand in September was a stunning twist in a career that had largely been built on his carefully cultivated image as a gangster. For three days, he broke the cardinal rule among gang members against snitching. | Mr. Hernandez’s turn on the witness stand in September was a stunning twist in a career that had largely been built on his carefully cultivated image as a gangster. For three days, he broke the cardinal rule among gang members against snitching. |
| In a calm, cordial tone, he testified in a federal courtroom in Manhattan, laying out in detail the inner workings of the Nine Trey gang for a jury that later convicted two of his co-defendants. | In a calm, cordial tone, he testified in a federal courtroom in Manhattan, laying out in detail the inner workings of the Nine Trey gang for a jury that later convicted two of his co-defendants. |
| “Hernandez provided the government with critical insight into the structure and organization of Nine Trey,” the government wrote to Judge Engelmayer this month, seeking leniency on Mr. Hernandez’s behalf. | |
| Mr. Hernandez’s decision to cooperate with prosecutors, once it became public in February, prompted other gang members charged in the case to plead guilty as well, the government said. | Mr. Hernandez’s decision to cooperate with prosecutors, once it became public in February, prompted other gang members charged in the case to plead guilty as well, the government said. |
| In court, Mr. Hernandez offered a broad apology to his fans, his family and people — especially children — who had looked up to him. He said he hoped to use his music career to show young people “that it’s never too late to change.” | In court, Mr. Hernandez offered a broad apology to his fans, his family and people — especially children — who had looked up to him. He said he hoped to use his music career to show young people “that it’s never too late to change.” |
| After the hearing, a lawyer for the woman who spoke in court about being shot said his client — who was referred to only as “L.L.” — believed Mr. Hernandez’s apology was sincere. | After the hearing, a lawyer for the woman who spoke in court about being shot said his client — who was referred to only as “L.L.” — believed Mr. Hernandez’s apology was sincere. |
| “We appreciate that he apologized for what happened,” the lawyer, Hernandez Rhau, said. “She went through a lot with this situation, and today was her way of starting the healing process.” | “We appreciate that he apologized for what happened,” the lawyer, Hernandez Rhau, said. “She went through a lot with this situation, and today was her way of starting the healing process.” |
| Sean Piccoli and Joe Coscarelli contributed reporting. | Sean Piccoli and Joe Coscarelli contributed reporting. |