6ix9ine's lawyer is arguing that his client is innocent of all charges, noting that he's merely "an entertainer."
Lawyer Lance Lazzaro said this week that the recently arrested 6ix9ine is "an entertainer who portrays a 'gangster image' to promote his music," adding that such an image does not mean he's an enterprise member as has been claimed in Department of Justice statements. "[6ix9ine] became victim of this enterprise and later took steps by firing employees and publicly denounced this enterprise through a morning show," Lazzaro said, according to a report from the Blast Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, a separate report from TMZ claimed that a scheduled bail hearing was expected to be postponed. Furthermore, per Lazzaro's comments in that report, 6ix9ine is said to be "extremely concerned" for his family.
6ix9ine and five other men were arrested earlier this week on racketeering and firearm charges. He's now facing a mandatory minimum of 32 years, with a maximum of life. "Showing reckless indifference to others' safety, members of [Nine Trey] were allegedly involved in robberies and shootings, including a shooting inside the crowded Barclay's Center, and a shooting in which an innocent bystander was hit," U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a press release Monday.
The likelihood of a life sentence, however, is—according to former LAPD lieutenant Adam Bercovici—not exactly high. "'Life in prison' is salacious stuff," Bercovici—who retired from LAPD as retiring as lieutenant II of the Robbery-Homicide Division, Homicide Special Section—told Complex Tuesday. "I don't know all the details of the case, so I can only speak generally on this. But typically, deals are made, because you have multiple people involved and everybody goes out and gets their own attorney. That's kind of what law enforcement counts on, that everybody rats everybody out. That's what we hope."
