6ix9ine was arrested in November of 2018 on racketeering charges, alongside many of his former associates—including frequent social media co-star Kifano “Tr3yway Shotti” Jordan. The federal indictment revealed an investigation that dates back to 2013, and 6ix9ine has been no stranger to the courtroom in recent years. Below is a timeline (that will be continually updated) of 6ix9ine’s major interactions with the legal system.
6ix9ine pleaded guilty to “use of child in a sexual performance.” The charge dates from a February 2015 incident involving the rapper, several other men, and a 13-year-old girl. You can read the details, including 6ix9ine’s various misrepresentations of the details of his plea, here.
His sentencing was initially put off for two years as part of the plea deal (in the end, it would be closer to three, mostly due to 6ix9ine’s requests for additional time to complete his GED). In the interim, he had a list of conditions to abide by. They included getting his GED, performing 300 hours of community service, refraining from posting or re-posting sexually explicit or violent images that feature children or women to social media, not committing a crime for two years, and writing a letter apologizing to the girl and her family.
A pre-6ix9ine Tr3yway Shotti, living in New Jersey, was arrested after he was pulled over and ran from the cops. He was eventually caught with heroin, “an unknown white powder,” marijuana, a grinder, rolling papers, and a machete.
Tr3yway Shotti didn’t show up to court, and an arrest warrant was issued. In the middle of the following month, he was named Hunterdon County’s Fugitive of the Week. “I was on the run for two years,” he explained in a post-fame interview. “I was signing deals while I was on the run.”
While at a Houston mall, 6ix9ine allegedly didn’t like that a 16-year-old fan named Santiago Albarran was shooting video of the rising star. The rapper and his bodyguards surrounded the teen, and 6ix9ine grabbed him.
Albarran went to the cops, claiming that 6ix9ine had choked him. In May, it was revealed that there was a warrant out for 6ix9ine’s arrest in the case. Albarran eventually changed his tune and said he didn’t want the rapper prosecuted.
On April 19, there was a shooting at a Casanova video shoot, and 6ix9ine’s involvement was suspected. Just a few days later, there was a possibly related shooting outside the Barclays Center following an Adrien Broner fight. Tr3yway Shotti was initially arrested for the shooting, then released. Not long after, his longtime associate Fuguan “Fubanger” Lovick was arrested instead.
In Brooklyn, 6ix9ine was arrested for driving with a suspended license after parking in front of a hydrant. He was hit with a charge of assaulting a police officer for a related incident the next day.
6ix9ine was kidnapped and robbed. Months later, a former member of his own management team was arrested as a suspect.
Uncle Murda was filming a video for his song “Get the Strap,” which features 50 Cent, 6ix9ine, and Casanova. A still-unidentified person fired shots half a block away from the set, and there was speculation that it was related to the beef between 6ix9ine and Casanova.
After many delays, 6ix9ine was sentenced for his 2015 case. He got four years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service. Prosecutors were angling for something harsher, but the judge thought 6ix9ine’s rough reputation was all bluster. She cited his “exaggerated overblown public persona.”
After his sentencing, 6ix9ine was scheduled to have dinner with his label head Elliot Grainge at NYC’s swanky restaurant Philippe Chow. Some members of the rapper’s entourage, including Tr3yway Shotti, attempted to get in, but Grainge’s security wouldn’t let them and a melee broke out. Shotti reportedly hit the bodyguard with a chair, and Faheem “Crippy” Walter (6ix9ine’s bodyguard at the time) was shot in the stomach. Soon after, Shotti turned himself in, then turned around and bailed himself out.
6ix9ine was filming a video alongside Kanye West in Beverly Hills. Before Nicki Minaj could show up, violence broke out on the set when a gunman, caught on video, drove up and fired shots.
6ix9ine’s May charges were finally settled. He eventually plead guilty to a severely downgraded charge, which was dropped all the way down to disorderly conduct. He received a conditional discharge (to stay out of trouble for a year), and avoided jail time.
In a surprising sudden announcement, 6ix9ine announced that he fired his whole team and cancelled the U.S. dates on his tour. In a follow-up interview with the Breakfast Club, the rapper explained that he was being robbed by his booking agency and promoters. MTA Booking denied 6ix9ine’s claims. He also spoke about “federal agents sitting in front of my house.” He added, “There’s only two things I fear in life. I fear God, and I fear the FBI.”
On Sunday night, 6ix9ine and five of his now-former associates—Tr3yway Shotti, Faheem Walter, Fuguan Lovick, Jensel “Ish” Butler, and Jamel “Mel Murda” Jones—were arrested by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, in concert with the NYPD and Homeland Security Investigations. 6ix9ine faces a range of racketeering and firearms-related charges, each of which carry maximum sentences ranging between three years and life. Mentioned specifically were his alleged involvements in an armed robbery in midtown Manhattan in April (which prosecutors say he filmed; the ID of the robbery victim was found in 6ix9ine’s house during the September raid); and a shooting in Brooklyn in July. The indictment specifically names the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods as a “criminal organization.”
6ix9ine was denied bail, despite offering to surrender his passport. At the same time, reports came out that just two days before his arrest, he had been warned by federal agents that some of his now-fired affiliates had threatened his life. He turned down the feds’ offer of a hotel, and was put under 24-hour watch.
The latest reports say that 6ix9ine is being held in the general population at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. His new album Dummy Boy comes out on Friday.
Reports in the days leading up to February 1 noted that three new people were going to be charged in the case against 6ix9ine and company. But when a new superseding indictment came out with up-to-date charges and the new defendants, one very prominent name was missing. And just past noon on February 1, we found out why.
6ix9ine had, back on January 23, plead guilty to a new nine-count indictment. The judge unsealed the plea on February 1.
In the new indictment, 6ix9ine admits that he was a "member" or "associate" of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, which the indictment calls a "criminal organization." According to the indictment, 6ix9ine "participated in unlawful...activity in furtherance of the conduct of the Enterprise's affairs."
As far as specifics, 6ix9ine cops to shooting at a "rival gang member" in Times Square on March 20, 2018; robbing "rivals of Nine Trey" on April 3, 2018, again in Midtown Manhattan (cops found evidence linking 6ix9ine to this robbery at the rapper's apartment); and "aid[ing] and abet[ting] the shooting of rivals of Nine Trey" at a hotel in Times Square on June 2, 2018—this last one is a likely reference to the Chief Keef shooting. He also admits to some drug charges ("distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances"—heroin specifically) and firearms charges, the latter mostly to do with the robberies and shootings mentioned above. He will also have to forfeit any money "traceable to the commission of said offenses."
The rapper is, according to the government, "cooperating against multiple violent people" in Nine Trey.
Shotti pleaded guilty to two firearms offenses on March 28, stemming from the April 21 Barclays shooting and April 3 Manhattan robbery of Scum Lord D!zzy. As part of the plea, the government promised not to prosecute him for any involvement in the Chief Keef shooting. He faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life. While ultimately those are guidelines and the final sentence will be determined by the judge, the plea makes clear that "neither party will seek any departure or adjustment" to the sentencing guidelines, and that "neither a downward nor an upward departure" from those guidelines "is warranted."
