Tekashi 6ix9ine Pleads Not Guilty to Firearms Charges, Trial Set for September

By Jem Aswad

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Tekashi 6ix9ine pleaded not guilty to  federal racketeering and firearms charges  in New York on Monday morning, according to TMZ  and multiple news reports. A pre-trial conference is set for January 22 and the trial is scheduled for September. The rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, and his co-defendants, who also pled not guilty, will remain in custody, where they have been since Nov. 18, although it is unclear for how long.

TMZ reports that Lance Lazarro, the rapper’s attorney, is planning to apply for bail directly to the trial judge; Lazarro did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comments.

“We don’t fold, we don’t bend, we don’t break,” Shotti (Kifano Jordan), 6ix9ine’s former manager, said in court Monday, according to Complex, although the context was unclear. “It’s Tr3yway.”

Hernandez, who was already in legal trouble on multiple fronts, was arrested with Jordan and associates Faheem Walter and Jensel Butler in New York on Nov. 18 on federal racketeering and firearms charges. The eight-count indictment claims Hernandez and the other defendants “participated in the operation and management of” the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods gang. Hernandez, Jordan, and two others are accused of robbing unidentified rivals of the gang at gunpoint on April 3; the indictment also mentions a July 16 shooting incident in Brooklyn.

Hernandez and others are accused of agreeing “to shoot an individual who had shown disrespect to members of Nine Trey, and as a result of this agreement an innocent bystander was shot.” Hernandez and Joran are both facing six counts, the most serious of which is discharging a firearm while committing a crime, which carries a minimum 25-year sentence and a maximum penalty of life.

“As alleged in the indictment, this gang, which included platinum-selling rap artist , wreaked havoc on New York City, engaging in brazen acts of violence,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement. “Showing reckless indifference to others’ safety, members of the gang were allegedly involved in robberies and shootings, including a shooting inside the crowded Barclay’s Center, and a shooting in which an innocent bystander was hit.”

The investigation was a joint effort between the ATF, New York City police and Homeland Security