The 6ix9ine Nine Trey Trial: Everything We Learned
The Tekashi 6ix9ine related Nine Trey racketeering trial is underway. Each day, we'll update this story with new information as it develops.
Image via Getty/Kevin Mazur
The long-awaited trial in the 6ix9ine racketeering case is underway.
The rapper, having pleaded guilty in January, is not on trial himself. Instead, he's now the government's star witness. On trial are two alleged members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods: Anthony "Harv" Ellison and Aljermiah "Nuke" Mack. Ellison is charged with kidnapping and robbing 6ix9ine in July 2018, and of slashing a different Nine Trey member that October. Mack is accused of dealing heroin and MDMA (an earlier charge of dealing an analog of fentanyl was taken off of the docket for technical reasons). In addition, both are charged with being members of Nine Trey.
The trial, which is taking place at Manhattan's Thurgood Marshall Courthouse, is expected to last a little over two weeks. Complex will be in attendance at all court dates until the trial ends, and we'll be updating this article every day with reports of what happened. Here's everything we've learned at the trial so far.
Day 1: 'It's a Jussie Smollett, if you will'
The trial kicked off on Monday, September 16 with jury selection and opening statements from the government and each of the defendants' lawyers.
Before potential jurors were let into the courtroom, the government gave a preview of what some of its witnesses will say. One upcoming witness, the U.S. Attorneys explained, will say that he spoke to Anthony Ellison after the defendant was arrested for allegedly kidnapping 6ix9ine. That witness, the government continued, will say that he showed Ellison press coverage of the incident, and that Ellison "gloated that it was going to make him famous." A different witness, the government went on, will mention an admission by Ellison to the October slashing with which he is charged.
After that short explanation, it was time for 100 potential jurors to fill up the large courtroom, leaving a half dozen friends and family of the defendants standing in the back. 6ix9ine's name was only mentioned once during the jury selection process, when Judge Paul Engelmayer said that a "rap artist named Tekashi 6ix9ine" would be a witness. The judge enquired if anyone had an opinion about 6ix9ine that would prevent them from being impartial. No one raised their hand.
Other famous names were raised as well, but not as potential witnesses, and rather as people who may be mentioned during the trial. Among those names were Jim Jones, onetime 6ix9ine rivals Chief Keef and Casanova, former codefendants Jamel "Mel Murda" Jones and Kintea "Kooda B" McKenzie, and 6ix9ine's former girlfriend (and the mother of his daughter), Sara Molina.
“This whole thing about a kidnapping is a hoax. It's a Jussie Smollett, if you will” - defense Attorney Deveraux Cannick
Once the jury was picked, opening statements began. Attorney Jonathan Rebold began on behalf of the government. He painted Nine Trey as a "brutal" gang, and Ellison and Mack as "two of the gang's highest-ranking members." Ellison, Rebold explained, had been "muscle and manager" for 6ix9ine until he was "removed" by a fellow member. That member remained unnamed, but government documents make it clear it's Kifano "Shotti" Jordan, who was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison. That removal, the government contended, led Ellison to kidnap and rob 6ix9ine for revenge. Then Rebold turned his attention to Mack, who the attorney said was involved in moving "large quantities" of drugs.
Rebold laid out the evidence he would be presenting: testimony from police officers and a doctor who saw 6ix9ine in the aftermath of the alleged kidnapping; cell site evidence placing Ellison at the alleged kidnapping and slashing; phone conversations; social media posts; testimony from other Nine Trey members. And then he revealed something that had been clear to close observers for weeks: one of the cooperating witnesses the government will present is 6ix9ine's driver, who was present the night of the alleged kidnapping. (Another, it was revealed later on, is a drug dealer who was caught importing drugs from China in 2017, and says he worked with Mack).
Rebold tried his best to prepare the jury for Ellison's long-telegraphed defense that 6ix9ine is a liar who faked his own kidnapping for publicity by urging jurors to see how the testimony of cooperating witnesses like 6ix9ine fits with the other evidence.
Alex Huot, representing Mack, was up next. He said that his client was caught up in guilt by association. He compared Nine Trey to a fraternity, saying that different chapters operate independently. "Members may know some handshakes, some secret words," he said. "But they are each still a part of their own organization."
Huot talked about 6ix9ine, saying that most of what the rapper had heard about Mack came from syncophants eager to tell him a tall tale. "He rose to fame by trolling people on the internet," he said. "You'll see how he manipulated the public and the media. At the end of the day, most of what he's telling you about Aljermiah Mack, he heard from others. People strived to impress him. Someone was always telling him a story."
Ellison's primary attorney, Deveraux Cannick, went last. He hammered at 6ix9ine's credibility, comparing it to another recent tabloid story.
"This whole thing about a kidnapping is a hoax. It's a Jussie Smollett, if you will," Cannick emphatically stated. The attorney continued, saying that his client had been 6ix9ine's "security manager," and had done an excellent job protecting the star, given that "there are people all across the country who wanted a piece of Tekashi."
Another member of Ellison's legal team, Darnell Crosland, issued a statement to Complex after court ended for the day: "The Government elected an unusually short opening argument which indicates that there isn’t an epic story to tell. We are confident that the evidence against Mr. Ellison isn’t epic either. Mr. Ellison has been nothing but loyal, open, and honest to Hernandez and did his job for the record label as effective as any employer would ask. He had no affiliation with any gang or gang activity. The jury appears to be a fair cross representation of the community and we are confident that they will exonerate Mr. Ellison."
The trial continues on Tuesday, and 6ix9ine is expected to testify early in the day.
Day 2: 6ix9ine takes the witness stand
Day two of the trial was the one everyone was waiting for, judging by the amount of observers and media. 6ix9ine finally took the stand. He laid out the beginnings of his history with Nine Trey, and set the stage to discuss his alleged kidnapping. He also broke down several details about Nine Trey, including things like how their handshake and hand signs are made, and specific examples of how specific members are organized within the gang. Read a full, detailed report from the day in court here.
Day 3: 6ix9ine testifies for a full day
6ix9ine’s testimony continued for a second day—one that was cut unexpectedly short by news that audio of Tuesday’s hearing had been leaked onto the internet. To read our full report of the rapper’s dramatic, video-enhanced testimony, go here.
Day 4: 'I didn't want to snitch'
6ix9ine wrapped up his testimony on Thursday in a day that was notable not just for his words, but for a contributed (via taped phone call) from Jim Jones and a passing mention of Cardi B that turned into a media sensation. Read the entire account here.
Day 5: 6ix9ine’s driver (a cooperating witness) testifies
On Monday, the second of the Nine Trey trial’s three cooperating witnesses returned to the witness stand. 6ix9ine’s driver Jorge Rivera began testimony the previous Thursday, and picked up right where he left off, recounting the April 3, 2018 armed robbery of a Rap-A-Lot artist (as well as 6ix9ine’s former mentor Scumlord D!zzy) in Times Square.
From there, Rivera broke down the details from his perspective of several other violent events: defendant Aljermiah Mack’s alleged robbery of former co-defendant Roland “Ro Murda” Martin (which 6ix9ine and his then-manager Kifano “Shotti” Jordan were informed of moments after Rivera snapped a photo of them with Mr. Met); and two different shootings on April 21, 2018 including the now-infamous incident at the Barclays Center.
Rivera, who is undocumented, testified that he was arrested by ICE at the end of May 2018 and began cooperating with the government against Nine Trey after being released from custody on July 2.
Rivera then broke down 6ix9ine’s alleged kidnapping by defendant Anthony “Harv” Ellison. Rivera was driving the rapper when their car was hit from behind. They stopped, and he walked towards the offending vehicle. A passenger got out, the driver continued.
“[H]e pointed a gun at me, and he ushered me, walked me to the door on the side where Daniel was sitting,” Rivera remembered. “I thought we were going to get killed and we were going to be robbed.”
While explaining his cooperation, Rivera told the jury that he had pleaded guilty to crimes including racketeering and weapons possession for his role in various Nine Trey-related incidents and (unless he cooperated) was facing 17 years to life in prison. When asked why he continued driving for 6ix9ine even after being party to the April 3 robbery, Rivera had a simple answer: “Because of the pay.”
Rivera said that 6ix9ine, Shotti, and company were unaware of his cooperation until shortly before the November 2018 federal arrests. He explained they may have become suspicious in late September or early October of that year. “And you were afraid of Shotti, correct?” asked Ellison’s lead attorney Deveraux Cannick. “Yes. I’m still afraid of him,” the driver replied.
Later in the day, the case’s final cooperating witness, Kristian “YB” Cruz, took the stand. Cruz, who said he joined Nine Trey around 2015, admitted to selling heroin, MDMA, and fentanyl. He broke down the structure of Nine Trey, explaining that Mel Murda had his own “lineup” within the gang called the “Murderville” lineup. He also broke down the tensions between Mack and Mel. Those tensions dated back to a disagreement between Mel and incarcerated Nine Trey leader Pedro “Magoo” Gutierrez, in which Mack took Gutierrez’s side.
Things escalated from there. “Aljermiah Mack told me one time when he was drunk he went to Mel Murda's block and shot a shotgun at Mel Murda,” Cruz recalled. Cruz then explained that he had sold MDMA to Mack in 2015, and later sold him what Cruz claimed was heroin, but was actually heroin cut with fentanyl. Cruz recorded a number of phone calls with Mel which were played for the room, including one from late October 2018 in which Jones called 6ix9ine a “clown.”: “The n***a’s so weird.” Cruz’s testimony continued for the rest of the day, and wrapped up on Tuesday.
Day 6: Another cooperating witness continues testimony
The trial continued on Tuesday with cooperating witness Kristian Cruz, 24, returning to the witness stand. Cruz spent the entire day in front of the courtroom, enumerating his relationship with defendant Aljermiah “Nuke” Mack, and explaining the ins and outs of his drug dealing operation.
Much of the morning was centered around Mack’s alleged robbery of fellow Nine Trey member Roland “Ro Murda” Martin—the same robbery that 6ix9ine and his then-manager Kifano “Shotti” Jordan found out about moments after they had taken a photo with Mr. Met. Video was played in the courtroom of Mack in the aftermath of the incident, showing off a Range Rover and watch that appeared to be Martin’s, while an unseen person in the background yells, “Ro Murda, what up?” In the aftermath of the robbery, Cruz testified, Mack was kicked out of Nine Trey.
Cruz, who also testified about drug deals with Mack in 2015 and 2016, admitted to fabrications in his past, such as falsely telling one Nine Trey member that he won a $1,000-a-week-for-life lottery; and paying to have fake legal paperwork created that purported to show that he had made $2.2 million in an identity theft scheme. Cruz wanted, he said, “to make it look like I was making more money than I was.”
“I lied a lot previously,” Cruz admitted towards the end of the day. But now, facing 15 years to life in prison (unless his cooperation agreement is fulfilled), he is honest because his “life and freedom is on the line.” The witness copped to having pleaded guilty to a variety of crimes: conspiring to sell drugs with others, racketeering, two firearms charges, and obstruction of justice. As part of his agreement, he also admitted to (but was not charged with) a number of additional crimes, from counterfeiting to flying prostitutes in from California to purchasing drugs online.
Cruz, also known as YB for “Young Brooklyn,” began cooperating with the government in May 2018. As part of his cooperation, he made a number of taped phone calls to Jamel “Mel Murda” Jones, a former co-defendant in this case who pleaded guilty in April.
During the period of his cooperation, Cruz said, he also strung Martin along on a deal for a kilogram of fentanyl. Martin inquired whether he could buy it, Cruz testified. Cruz, unable to sell because of his situation, made the price point too high and complained about a “drought.”
Mack’s defense attorney Eylan Schulman cross-examined Cruz. He attempted to cast doubt on the witness’ credibility by pointing out his gang affiliations and past crimes. It was during cross examination that Cruz explained the economics of dealing heroin. He would, he explained, buy heroin for $55,000 a kilo, fentanyl for $6,500 a kilo, and “cut” (materials to stretch the drug) for an additional $500 per kilo. He would mix that together and sell the resulting three kilos of material all as heroin, taking in about $135,000.
One other notable detail came late in the day when Cruz admitted that he used to employ a female NYPD sergeant to transport drugs for him. “I never directly hired her,” Cruz said, explaining that instead, her services came through Aaron “Bat” Young (another former co-defendant in the case.
Cross-examination of Cruz continues on Wednesday, and the government will call three additional witnesses after that. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Longyear said that the government expects to rest its case by the end of the day. Counsel for co-defendant Anthony “Harv” Ellison said that they also plan to call the alleged victim of the October 2018 slashing (of which Ellison is accused) as a defense witness. Court is not in session on Friday of this week or Monday and Tuesday of next week, so it is possible the case may continue well into next week before there is a verdict.
Day 7: ‘I didn’t pay anybody $30,000 to shoot anybody’
The evidence-introducing portion of the trial ended on Wednesday the same way it began: tales of Nine Trey infighting and violence, and the looming possibility of a notable witness.
The case, which continues on Thursday in Manhattan’s Thurgood Marshall Courthouse, is (contrary to some reports) not expected to end that day. Closing arguments from all sides will likely take up all of Thursday. After a break that includes a normally-scheduled off day on Friday and two additional days off for Rosh Hashona on Monday and Tuesday, the trial will resume on Wednesday. At that point, scores of pages of charging instructions will be read to the jury. After all of this, deliberations will begin as the jury figures out a verdict.
The trial’s final day of witnesses and evidence began with debate over whether defendant Anthony “Harv” Ellison, accused of an October 24, 2018 slashing in the Brooklyn housing project colloquially known as “Smurf Village,” would have his counsel call the alleged victim as a witness. The alleged victim was reluctant to testify and was expected to plead the Fifth. The judge went as far as preparing paperwork compelling him to testify and granting him immunity “in any criminal case” (except in matters relating to lying on the stand) for anything he said as a witness. However, at the very end of the day, after he had actually appeared in the courtroom, Ellison’s lead attorney Deveraux Cannick decided against calling him as a witness and the matter was dropped.
The main witness on Wednesday was the same as the day before: Kristian Cruz, the former Nine Trey member who is cooperating with the government. Cruz, under cross-examination from defendant Aljermiah “Nuke” Mack’s attorney Eylan Schulman, went over a number of details about the gang’s organization. He spent a great deal of time discussing the January 2018 shooting of alleged Nine Trey member Shane “Snow Billy” Hardy by one of this case’s former co-defendants, Aaron “Bat” Young. Cruz explained that the shooting, which left Hardy in the hospital, came about when one of Hardy’s cousins showed Cruz a video of Hardy. In the video, Cruz explained, Hardy was saying he wanted to enlist relatives to dress up as policemen in a plot to kidnap Cruz, and he also wanted to shoot Mel Murda. (Hardy, for his part, has said in interviews that the shooting was done to wrest control of 6ix9ine’s career from him.)
Schulman asked Cruz about the kidnapping plot: “Obviously that’s concerning, right?” Cruz answered, “Not from Snow.”
Cruz copped to being with Young and Hardy before the shooting, and driving Young to Pennsylvania in its aftermath. Schulman tried to get Cruz to admit that he had paid Young $30,000 to perform the shooting. “I’m positive that I didn’t pay anybody $30,000 to shoot anybody,” Cruz defiantly responded.
NYPD criminalist Marzia Felia also testified on Wednesday, explaining that a November 2016 drug bust linked to Nine Trey members showed that the gang was selling heroin mixed with fentanyl.
After that, some of the most revealing testimony of the whole trial came from a very unexpected source. Investigative analyst Reginald Donaldson, who works for the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District, analyzed Ellison’s cell phone records.
Donaldson demonstrated that Ellison’s phone was in the location of the two major crimes he is accused of (6ix9ine’s alleged kidnapping in July, 2018 and a slashing in October, 2018) right as the events were occurring. The movements of Ellison’s cellphone matched how his whereabouts during the incidents had been described by earlier witnesses, including 6ix9ine and his former driver Jorge Rivera, which is something that can only help the government as they make their final case that Ellison committed those crimes to the jury on Thursday.
One final bit of evidence popped up at the end of the day: Ellison’s legal team mentioned that during the period of 6ix9ine’s alleged kidnapping and robbery, their client had possession of a close friend’s Nissan Altima, and returned it with the front bumper damaged. The government will almost certainly mention that the damage is consistent with earlier witness accounts of 6ix9ine’s car being hit from behind by Ellison and an accomplice as the incident began.
Day 8: ‘This rainbow-haired kid who sings songs’ and closing arguments
Tekashi 6ix9ine’s alleged kidnapping is now even more complicated—at least according to Deveraux Cannick.
Cannick, the lead attorney for Anthony Ellison, one of the defendants in the Nine Trey racketeering trial, gave his closing argument on Thursday in Manhattan’s Thurgood Marshall Courthouse. The lawyer spent his last words to the jury explaining how his client, accused of kidnapping and robbing the “Gummo” rapper in the early morning hours of July 22, 2018, didn’t actually do it.
Cannick had long made it clear that he thought the kidnapping was staged. This time, he had a slightly more elaborate explanation. In his telling, 6ix9ine’s driver Jorge Rivera did not know at first that the kidnapping was fake—thus his frantic, caught-on-video response of finding a policeman in the aftermath. Neither, he said, did the rapper’s manager Kifano “Shotti” Jordan, who four days later ranted at 6ix9ine for putting himself in a position to be robbed and threatened Ellison’s life in a secretly recorded conversation.
“Jorge really believed it was a kidnapping [initially],” Cannick said. “He realized [later] this was no real crime—my boss was up to something.”
6ix9ine’s post-kidnapping hospital visit and the documented brusing on his face? “If you’re gonna pull off this hoax, you gotta make it look real,” he said.
Overall, Cannick continued, 6ix9ine was using everyone around him for PR: “He’s a bright young man. He understands marketing really well. He knows how to take advantage of situations.”
In the government’s rebuttal, attorney Michael Longyear called much of Cannick’s statement “a distraction.” He said that for a rapper like 6ix9ine, who spent so much time talking tough, the idea of being robbed as a PR stunt was ridiculous.
“How exactly does getting kidnapped enhance his gangster persona?” Longyear asked rhetorically. He pointed out that 6ix9ine himself had filmed the robbery of a Rap-A-lot artist in order to embarrass him and the label. Similarly, the point of Ellison robbing 6ix9ine was to “humiliate” the rapper and “to demonstrate that Hernandez wasn’t Billy [Nine Trey].”
Longyear explained that Ellison, who “lived and breathed Nine Trey,” was angry at 6ix9ine’s recent entry into the gang, and didn’t like his confrontational approach that often put members in the line of fire: “This poser, this rainbow-haired kid who sings songs—it was insulting. So [Ellison] robbed him to humiliate him.”
As for the idea that 6ix9ine would lie about a staged kidnapping—since lying about anything on the stand could put his cooperation agreement in jeopardy and subject him to decades in prison—Longyear was incredulous: “With Hernandez in particular, Cannick wants you to believe that he’s admitted to shootings, robberies, drug dealing… and he’s facing 47 years in jail over a staged robbery. It’s madness.”
The closing arguments from all sides took up all of Thursday. For the government, AUSA Jacob Warren laid out highlights from the voluminous amount of evidence his side had introduced over the course of the trial. He pointed out the numerous violent acts that members of Nine Trey had been a part of, and mentioned the videos, texts, phone calls, and witness testimony that placed Ellison and the case’s other defendant Aljermiah “Nuke” Mack at the center of some of them.
“Nine Trey is about violence and drugs,” Warren said at the outset. “Ellison and Mack knew what the gang was about, and chose to be a part of it.”
Mack’s attorney Louis Fasulo spent a lot of time attacking the credibility of cooperating witness Kristian Cruz, an admitted drug dealer. Fasulo called his client a victim of “guilt by association.” Longyear, in his rebuttal, said that it was instead “guilty by participation,” and explained why Cruz should be believed despite his past. Cruz, he said, put his freedom on the line if he lied on the witness stand.
“Don’t believe the cooperators because they’re good people,” Longyear said. “Believe them because they’re selfish people.”
After the hearing, Cannick was confident. “I think we gave them reason to doubt,” he told Complex. “There’s no direct evidence to give the jury reason to believe the government.”
Calvin Scholar, another attorney for Ellison, offered an additional thought about the July 22 incident. “The cooperation agreement only works if 6ix9ine has somebody to offer up,” he said. “He realizes this is his chance. He offers somebody up to get a get-out-of-jail-free card. That’s what Harv is to him.”
Jury deliberations in the case will begin on Wednesday.
Final verdict: Defendants found guilty of racketeering, kidnapping, maiming, drug trafficking
After two days of deliberation, the jury reached a verdict in the 6ix9ine/Nine Trey trial on Thursday afternoon, October 3. Defendants Anthony “Harv” Ellison and Aljermiah “Nuke” Mack were found guilty of racketeering by being members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods. In addition, Ellison was found guilty of kidnapping the controversial rapper Daniel “Tekashi 6ix9ine” Hernandez in July 2018, and of maiming someone in an unrelated incident in October of that year. Mack was found guilty of narcotics trafficking, for dealing heroin and MDMA.
While neither defendant testified during the case, Ellison communicated through his attorney and in public statements that Hernandez set up the kidnapping as a “stunt” to gain public sympathy. However, the twelve members of the jury decided otherwise, though they did find Ellison not guilty of related counts involving the use of a firearm in the kidnapping.
During his testimony as a cooperating witness, Hernandez shared his harrowing experience of being kidnapped, robbed of over $300,000 worth of jewelry, and beaten by Ellison and an accomplice in the early morning hours of July 22, 2018. Hernandez’s driver, Jorge Rivera, also told the events from his perspective, and the jurors saw video from inside Rivera’s car. In addition, numerous police and medical personnel who saw Hernandez in the aftermath of the incident testified that he appeared injured and disoriented, and Ellison’s cell records placing him in the area were shared by an expert.
The primary evidence against Mack, who was found not guilty of a firearms offense, was the testimony of Kristian Cruz. Also crucial were numerous prison phone calls between Cruz and Mack. Cruz, a former heroin dealer for Nine Trey, painted a detailed account of the gang’s inner workings when it came to narcotics. He explained how he would order fentanyl from China. After that, he would sell a combination of heroin, fentanyl or an analogue, and plain powder, representing it to the buyer as heroin (or “dog food,” in the code the crew would use on phone calls).
In court, Ellison’s supporters wore shirts saying “Power Forward” and bearing his initials. After the verdict, many were in tears. Ellison’s lead attorney Deveraux Cannick said that his client likewise was “shocked and disappointed.”
The lawyer said he didn’t understand how the jury could say that the kidnapping was real, but find his client not guilty of using a gun while committing it.
“I’m a little confused in that if you believe [Hernandez] was kidnapped, then you should have believed there was a gun,” he told reporters after the verdict was announced.
Mack’s lead attorney Louis Fasulo stayed optimistic, pointing out that his client being found not guilty on the count of using firearms in relation to narcotics trafficking was a victory.
“Beating the gun charge was great,” he said. “We have appeal ahead, and we’ll see where this lands.”
Sentencing for both defendants will happen in February: Mack on February 19 and Ellison on February 26.
On Thursday evening, a member of Ellison's legal team, Darnell Crosland, shared a statement with Complex. You can see it in full below.
Statement by attorney Darnell Crosland of Anthony "Harv" Ellison's legal team
After the jury has spoken we can only respect their decision and thank them for their service. They were working with a set of facts and circumstances to the best of their ability.
My feelings are that the jury didn’t believe Tekashi 6ix9ine anymore than they believed any of the other cooperators. Their verdict in my opinion was more of an indictment against a gang that was started decades ago on Rikers Island as opposed to one against Mr. Anthony “Harv” Ellison.
As an attorney close to the facts and the case I can only tell you this, if you spend any time with Mr. Ellison “Harv” you can’t help but to see the true person he is, the light that shines in him. He is soft spoken, kind, and very intelligent. He did his best for Tekashi 6ix9ine.
Even if the government felt that Tekashi 6ix9ine and the other cooperators were even more of a menace than those on trial, it finds itself in a numbers game. And the math is simple, make a deal with these five guys to secure a conviction against these two guys as opposed to risking acquittals at higher numbers.
The harsh reality of our justice system is this, it imposes what is known as a “Trial Tax” on those that exercise their right to trial. Thus leaving those that profess their innocence and elect a trial to face greater consequences than those that may have been more culpable but got to the cheese quicker.