The court cases involving Daniel Hernandez, the rapper known as Tekashi 6ix9ine, fall into three chapters: a 2015 New York state case for use of a child in a sexual performance, a 2018 federal racketeering prosecution in the Southern District of New York tied to the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, and a series of supervised-release violations from that federal case that sent him back to prison in 2024 and again in early 2026. He cooperated with federal prosecutors in the RICO case, and that cooperation shaped nearly everything that followed.
The 2015 Brooklyn Child Sex-Performance Case
Hernandez’s first serious case was in Kings County, New York. It stemmed from an October 2015 incident involving a 13-year-old victim; Hernandez was 18, and the charges arose from online videos of the encounter.1NBC Miami. Tekashi 6ix9ine Sentenced to Probation Child Sex Case
He pleaded guilty to use of a child in a sexual performance. On October 26, 2018, he was sentenced to four years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service. He was not required to register as a sex offender.2Pitchfork. Tekashi 6ix9ine Sued for Sexual Assault of a Minor
The 2018 Federal RICO Case
On November 19, 2018, a federal indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of New York charging Hernandez and five associates with racketeering conspiracy and firearms offenses tied to the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, a violent subset of the Bloods street gang.3U.S. Department of Justice. Recording Artist and Performer Tekashi 6ix 9ine and Five Other Members and Associates Charged The case, docketed as 1:18-cr-00834 before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, named Hernandez alongside Jamel Jones, Kifano Jordan, Jensel Butler, Fuguan Lovick, and Faheem Walter.4CourtListener. United States v. Jones, 1:18-cr-00834
The indictment alleged violent crimes carried out on behalf of Nine Trey, including a gunpoint robbery on April 3, 2018, a shooting near the Barclays Center on April 21, 2018, and an agreement to shoot a rival that resulted in an innocent bystander being hit on July 16, 2018.5U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Performer Tekashi 6ix 9ine and 5 Others Charged With Racketeering and Firearms Offenses A January 2019 superseding indictment added Anthony Ellison, Kintea McKenzie, and others, expanding the case to include a Times Square shooting and the kidnapping and assault of Hernandez himself.6U.S. Department of Justice. Three Additional Members and Associates of Violent New York City Gang Charged
Cooperation, Guilty Plea, and Sentence
On January 23, 2019, in a sealed proceeding, Hernandez pleaded guilty before Judge Engelmayer to a nine-count superseding information: racketeering conspiracy, multiple firearms offenses, violent crimes in aid of racketeering (including attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon), and conspiracy to distribute heroin. Without a cooperation agreement, he faced a mandatory minimum of 47 years and a maximum of life.7Courthouse News Service. United States v. Hernandez, Plea Transcript
The plea was kept under seal so agents could arrest additional Nine Trey members before they learned of his cooperation. Hernandez later took the stand as the government’s star witness at the fall 2019 trial of Anthony Ellison and Aljermiah Mack. He described the gang providing him with protection and street credibility in exchange for financial support that he said went toward buying guns, and he testified that Ellison and another man had kidnapped him at gunpoint, beaten him, and taken jewelry from his home.8NBC New York. Deliberations at Gang Trial Where Tekashi 6ix9ine Testified
On December 18, 2019, Judge Engelmayer sentenced Hernandez to 24 months in prison, with credit for the 13 months he had already served, plus five years of supervised release, 300 hours of community service, and a $35,000 fine.9Vanity Fair. Tekashi 6ix9ine Sentencing10XXL Magazine. 6ix9ine Community Service 300 Hours House Arrest The judge called the cooperation “extraordinary” and “game-changing” but rejected the defense’s picture of Hernandez as a victim, saying he had used Nine Trey as his “personal hit squad.”11Rolling Stone. Tekashi 6ix9ine Two Years Prison Sentence
The gap between his sentence and those imposed on his co-defendants was wide. Anthony Ellison received 24 years, the longest in the case.12CaseMine. United States v. Ellison Aljermiah Mack was sentenced to 17 years after trial.13U.S. Department of Justice. Leader of Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison Kifano Jordan pleaded guilty to firearms counts and received the mandatory minimum of 15 years.14Inner City Press. Nine Trey Sentencing Coverage
Compassionate Release in 2020
On April 2, 2020, Judge Engelmayer granted Hernandez compassionate release, ordering him to serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement. Hernandez has severe asthma, and the judge wrote that COVID-19 in a prison setting posed a “clear and present danger” and a “heightened risk” for someone with his condition. Federal prosecutors withdrew their objection before the ruling.15ABC News. Rapper Tekashi69 Released From Prison Early Over Coronavirus Concerns16Forbes. Tekashi6ix9ine Released From Prison Amid Coronavirus Panic He had originally been scheduled for release in early August 2020.
Dominican Republic Arrests
After his home confinement ended, Hernandez relocated to Florida and spent time in the Dominican Republic. On October 15, 2023, Dominican police arrested him at a hotel in Sanchez after he allegedly assaulted two music producers, Cristian Anthony Rojas and Nelson Alfonso Hilario García, at a studio in La Vega. Reports said Hernandez arrived around midnight with four other men, some in ski masks; one victim reportedly needed jaw surgery.17Rolling Stone. Tekashi 6ix9ine Arrested in Dominican Republic for Attacking Music Producers
On January 17, 2024, he was arrested again, this time in Santo Domingo, on domestic violence charges involving his girlfriend, Dominican rapper Yailin La Más Viral.18CBS News. Tekashi 6ix9ine Arrested on Domestic Violence Charges in Dominican Republic On January 25, 2024, Judge Fátima Veloz granted him a conditional release requiring a $510 deposit, government counseling, and check-ins with authorities every two months while the investigation continued. The judge also issued protection orders for both parties.19San Diego Union-Tribune. Dominican Judge Orders Conditional Release of Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine in Domestic Violence Case
Supervised Release Violations
The five-year term of supervised release Judge Engelmayer imposed in 2019 became a recurring problem. Between late 2024 and late 2025, Hernandez was sentenced twice for violating its conditions.
November 2024: 45 Days
On November 12, 2024, Judge Engelmayer sentenced Hernandez to 45 days after he admitted to five violations: unauthorized travel from his Florida home to Las Vegas, failing to appear for drug tests, and lying to his probation officer.20Rolling Stone. Tekashi 6ix9ine Gets Prison Sentence for Violating Parole The judge cited the Dominican arrest and a speeding incident (allegedly 136 mph in a 65-mph zone) as aggravating factors, though not as standalone violations.21Courthouse News Service. Apologetic Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine Gets 45 Days in Prison for Probation Violations
On release, his supervision was extended by one year, and he was placed on electronic monitoring with home detention, a curfew, and a ban on international travel.20Rolling Stone. Tekashi 6ix9ine Gets Prison Sentence for Violating Parole
December 2025: Three Months
On March 12, 2025, police raided Hernandez’s Florida home. Officers found three MDMA pills and a small bag of cocaine residue in his bedroom. A separate search of a poolhouse turned up fentanyl, marijuana, and a Glock handgun, but prosecutors later acknowledged DNA testing did not link those items to Hernandez and a third party lived in that area.22Yahoo News. Police Raided 6ix9ine Home in March
On July 23, 2025, Hernandez pleaded guilty to two counts of drug possession in violation of his supervised release; prosecutors dropped the gun and fentanyl counts.23Courthouse News Service. Prison Possible as Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine Pleads Guilty to Probation Violations Judge Engelmayer warned that “consequences will be severe” if further violations occurred before sentencing.24Billboard. Tekashi 6ix9ine Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges Probation
There was one. On August 8, 2025, Hernandez got into a fight at a mall in Palm Beach County. His attorney, Lance Lazzaro, said an armed man taunted Hernandez as a “rat” and threatened him and his family before the confrontation started. Hernandez admitted to punching and kicking the man and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery.25NBC News. Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine Ordered Held Home Detention Mall Altercation At a September 26, 2025 arraignment, Judge Engelmayer placed him on house arrest with electronic monitoring pending sentencing.26iHeartRadio WGCI. 6ix9ine Placed on House Arrest After Allegedly Attacking Man at a Mall
On December 5, 2025, Judge Engelmayer sentenced Hernandez to three months in federal prison for the drug possession and assault violations, telling him: “From time to time your actions suggest that you believe that ordinary rules don’t apply to you.”27NBC New York. Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine Sentenced to Prison for Violating Probation He was ordered to report to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on January 6, 2026.28ABC7 New York. Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine Sentenced to 3 Months Federal Prison
Where Things Stand Now
Hernandez served the three months and was released from the Metropolitan Detention Center on April 3, 2026.29NBC Miami. Tekashi 6ix9ine Leaves New York Jail As of mid-2026, no additional criminal charges are publicly pending, though he remains subject to the ongoing terms of the supervised release imposed in the original federal case.30Yahoo Entertainment. 6ix9ine Celebrates Prison Release