Daniel "Tekashi 6ix9ine" Hernandez received a two-year prison sentence and five years of supervised release on Wednesday. The sentence includes the 13 months already served, which means he is expected to be free late 2020. When he is released from prison he will serve 300 hours of community service and pay a $35,000 fine.
"You are in custody for 13 months. I agree you deserve a great deal of credit for cooperation," Judge Paul Engelmayer said at the top of his sentencing, per Inner City Press' reporting from the courtroom. "However, I cannot agree with your counsel that time served it appropriate. In my judgment, your conduct is too violent and selfish to make 13 months reasonable. You will not be going free today."
Engelmayer's judgment included mentions of incidents with Casanova, Trippie Redd, and Chief Keef. The judge also noted, "Before you, the gang didn't fight with rap entourages. They had no independent interest in going after musicians and their management groups. ... I reject the portrait of you as a passive participant."
Prior to his sentencing, the government dropped one of the nine counts against him. As the 23-year-old copped a guilty plea and cooperated with authorities, he no longer faced the original 47 years behind bars he was expected to originally. With the gun charge dropped, he faced a minimum sentence of somewhere between 37 years and life. Additionally the government sent a letter to the judge requesting that 6ix9ine be sentenced below that minimum.
Hernandez was being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder, conspiracy to distribute heroin, and four firearms-related charges. An innocent bystander who was shot in the leg by a Nine Trey Blood member as the internal issues in the gang raged on spoke as part of the trial, while the judge also confirmed that victim impact letters were taken into consideration for the verdict.
The victim of the shooting took the stand as a witness. "Everyday I wake up, I have scars on my back," the witness reportedly said. "I was out of work. The actions took a lot of me. I still have to go to the doctors. And for him to sit up here. I want to see him apologize. My mother could have lost her daughter." Hernandez was called the "mastermind" behind the shooting by the witness. "I just want an apology," they added.
6ix9ine's attorney Lance Lazzaro argued that joining the Nine Trey Bloods was "the worst decision he ever made," per Inner City Press. Lazzaro also said that Hernandez will need "full time security" as he helped "take down a major gang." The attorney asked the judge for time served and three years of supervised release. When it came for his own time to speak, 6ix9ine added that he was "not a victim," accepting responsibility for his involvement with the gang. He also apologized to the victim and offered to pay for her medical bills, while also making it clear he "denounced being Nine Trey before the arrest."
Earlier this year, Hernandez reportedly turned down the option of witness protection after prosecutors said "witness protection may be required at a later date." He indicated that if let out, he would continue his career in music. While serving time as the case was ongoing, 6ix9ine signed a record deal with 10K Projects for a reported $10 million for two albums, one of which will be in Spanish. It is unknown when, if ever, these projects will arrive.
Look out for Complex and Spotify's docu-series Infamous: The Tekashi 6ix9ine Story when it premieres in January.
