Tekashi 6ix9ine is said to be terrified that an attempt may be made to harm his family as he prepares to testify in a kidnapping trial.
The performer, real name Daniel Hernandez, is currently in prison facing charges of racketeering, conspiracy, firearms offences and drug trafficking but he will also need to speak in court next month over his claims that he was ‘pistol-whipped, robbed and kidnapped’ in July 2018.
6ix9ine pointed the finger at Anthony Ellison, who was part of Tekashi’s management team and who is thought to be affiliated with the Nine Trey Bloods, of which Tekashi was also thought to be a member.
Ellison has always maintained his innocence.
Sources connected to the case have alleged that the rapper is ‘worried about how his mother and brother could be harmed, and also for his own safety behind bars’.
Speaking to TMZ, the insider said that 6ix9ine knows ‘this could make him a marked man for life’.
It is thought he has already spent thousands of dollars on security for his mother.
Tekashi 6ix9ine shot to fame in 2017 after his single Gummo made it big; he’s known for his colourful hair and grills, along with his controversial attitude.
In February 2019 an unsealed plea deal transcript revealed that 6ix9ine’s guilty plea after he was arrested as part of a five-year investigation by police could see him released as soon as January 2020; it also revealed he had requested witness protection upon his release.
According to papers filed in court, Tekashi, his former manager Shottie, Crippy, Ish and others are accused of being part of the Nine Trey Bloods gang which ‘committed and agreed, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence to protect and expand their narcotics business’.
The gang is alleged to have dealt drugs including MDMA, heroin, marijuana, and fentanyl across New York.
He’s due to reappear before the court in a hearing scheduled for 24 January 2020, having changed his original plea of innocent – his legal team claiming his ‘gangster’ image was all an act.
The 22-year-old was facing a minimum of 47 years and maximum of life in prison.
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