Tekashi 6ix9ine, real name Daniel Hernandez, testified against his former fellow gang members as he appeared for the first day of trial in federal court.
Tekashi took the witness stand in Manhattan federal court yesterday (September 17), where he delivered the first part of his testimony against two of his former fellow Nine Trey Bloods gang members, Anthony ‘Harvey’ Ellison and Aljermiah ‘Nuke’ Mack, who are facing racketeering and firearms charges.
The 23-year-old spent nearly two hours on the stand, during which time he testified to becoming a member of the gang in November 2017 and participating in violent crimes, including shootings, assaults and drug trafficking, TMZ report.
Tekashi revealed he started cooperating with federal authorities one day after he was arrested on racketeering and firearms charges last November.
Much of yesterday’s questioning involved the prosecution asking Tekashi to identify alleged Nine Trey members and explain the gang’s inner workings, terminology, culture and hierarchy, as well as other elements.
While on the stand, he identified Ellison and Mack by pointing at the defendants in court, backing up the prosecution’s claim they both belonged to Nine Trey Bloods.
The rapper told the court he first got in touch with men who he believed to be members of Nine Trey because he wanted gang members to appear in his music video for the song GUMMO, explaining ‘I wanted the aesthetic to be full of Nine Trey’.
Prosecutors reportedly showed stills from the music video, which Tekashi used to identify various gang members.
He added he met Kifano ‘Shotti’ Jordan, who went on to become Tekashi’s manager, while filming the video.
The 23-year-old explained his role as a gang member involved ‘making hits’ and being the ‘financial support for the gang’. He stated the money he made through rapping was not only used for gang members’ personal use, but also for the acquisition of firearms.
In return, the rapper got ‘[his] career’ as the gang provided him with street credibility as well as protection.
Following his arrest in November the American pled guilty to nine counts, including charges of racketeering conspiracy, multiple firearms offences, narcotics trafficking, and more.
He was facing a minimum of 47 years in prison but he made a deal in return for his full cooperation. 6ix9ine is expected to be sentenced in January 2020.
The information provided against his former fellow gang members will provide key testimony for the prosecutors’ case in the trial, which will continue today.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.