Today is the day of reckoning for Tekashi 6ix9ine, who had faced up to 47 years on racketeering and weapons charges before flipping and becoming a government witness.
For his work for the Feds, which had been described as "extraordinary," Judge Paul Engelmayer has sentenced 6ix9ine to 24 months and five years of supervised probation. He has already served 13 months.
This will come as shock to many of 6ix9ine's fans and his team, who had fully expected him to be released today.
It was looking like it was headed that direction when the Assistant US Attorney reiterated how helpful 6ix9ine had been for their case against the rest of the Nine Treys.
AUSA: But it's changed by an order of magnitude. He testified for three days. He is a high profile government cooperator. For those reasons, Your Honor, given the timeliness of his cooperation, that he made the other defendants plead guilty...
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019
Tekashi 6ix9ine's lawyer Lance Lazzaro then explained how 6ix9ine was a good kid from modest means before he linked up with the Tr3way gang, who used and stole from him. 6ix9ine told the judge he wasn't a victim, but explained he had denounced the Nine Treys before he was arrested, having come to realize they were using and abusing him.
Hernandez: I denounced being Nine Trey before the arrest. I was aware that the mother of my child was having sexual relations with Kifano Jordan. Via text messages. I was already kidnapped by Anthony Ellison. The booking agents were stealing hundreds of $1000s
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019
Hernandez: I realized I was not just a kid with rainbow hair and 69 tats - Franklin told me I was hope. Then I met another girl named Tati. She broke out of her shell. It was September. The family was struggling. I took them school shopping for the year
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019
Despite all of that, Judge Engelmayer gave 6ix9ine more time, citing his numerous crimes, including incidents involving Chief Keef, Trippie Redd, Casanova, and Rap-A-Lot. He also referenced his previous use of a child in a sexual performance conviction.
Judge Engelmayer: Your first crime, use of a child in a sexual performance, you said the same thing, that older acquaintances were having sexual intercourse with the underaged girl. That excuse may have worked once, but it doesn't work twice
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 18, 2019
When 6ix9ine does get out he is eligible for witness protection. However, he is expected to turn that down and resume his rap career. When he was locked up he signed a two-album ten million dollar deal with 10K records, who he had worked with before.
Are you surprised by the sentence?