Daniel “Tekashi 6ix9ine” Hernandez, as expected, admitted in federal court to violating the terms of his supervised release by possessing MDMA and cocaine, both of which were found in his house during a police raid earlier this year.
The rapper and his longtime attorney Lance Lazzaro appeared before Judge Paul Engelmayer on Wednesday (July 23). As prosecutors previewed in a letter earlier this month, Hernandez admitted to two of the four charges stemming from the March, 2025 raid on his Florida home. The other two charges, dealing with drugs and a gun found in the poolhouse on his property where his brother was living at the time, were dropped.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Rebold revealed during Wednesday’s hearing that tests on the gun showed DNA that was not consistent with the “Gummo” rapper, and there was not sufficient evidence to connect him to contraband found in the poolhouse. So, Rebold clarified, there would be “no weight” put on items found in the poolhouse when it came time to decide on a penalty in the case.
The 29-year-old rapper, who had his hair in several long braids and was wearing a black Essentials hoodie, was crisp and clear when admitting to the charges.
“On March 12, at my house in Miami, I was raided, and I possessed MDMA and residue of cocaine,” he said, explaining that the drugs were found “in a cabinet in the bedroom.”
“To which you had access?” Judge Engelmayer asked.
“Yes,” Hernandez said.
Sentencing in the case will take place on September 25. Judge Engelmayer originally suggested an earlier date, but Lazzaro moved to push things back so that his client count finish his court-ordered community service hours.
The probation department said that federal sentencing guidelines in Hernandez’s case (read more about how those work here) state that the recommended sentence will be between three and nine months in prison for each of the two counts. However, the judge does not have to abide by those recommendations.
Rebold made clear that, at the very least, he would ask for a continued term of supervised release, but gave no other indication of what the government would request. The government has to give its sentencing recommendation by September 18, and Hernandez by the 11th.
Since the raid on his house in March, Hernandez has “turned the corner” and is “heading in the right direction,” according to the probation department.
Judge Engelmayer, upon hearing that, took it upon himself to recommend that the rapper keep on that path.
He explained that between now and the September 25 sentencing, it is “exceptionally important” for 6ix9ine to abide by the terms of his supervised release.
“I want to make sure you understand the consequences — and they will be severe — if you violate a condition between now and sentencing,” he said.
After the hearing, Lazzaro told Complex that he wasn’t worried.
“He’s going to be fine,” the attorney said of his famous client. “Right now, he’s in full compliance. He’s almost done with community service. If he continues on this path, I think everything will work out.”
6ix9ine’s supervised release dates back to the racketeering case against him and other members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods that began in 2018. It famously went to trial the following year with the rapper as a cooperating witness.
