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By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon, Thread

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Sept 18 – In the first half of the second afternoon of evidence in the trial of Aljermiah Mack and Anthony Ellison, Daniel Hernandez / Tekashi 6ix9ine continued solicitously responding to the government's questions - except when asked if his "I'm a killer too" line in the song Billy, partially excluded by SDNY Judge Engelmayer, meant Nine Trey.

No, he said.

  This is how the rest of 2 pm to 3:20 pm went:
#6ix9ine says Ro (Roland Martin) told him Nuke stole his car. "It was embarrassing for us. The Godfather of our line up was robbed." AUSA Longyear: Let me draw your attention to Gov Exhibit 501gg, messages from Instagram

 #6ix9ine turns to Magoo, high ranking Blood in the prison line up. And Frank White.  Q: Do you have any understanding of what the phrase "You're not part of the fam" means? A: You're not part of the game. Q: What does that mean? A: Nine Trey.

 #6ix9ine moves on to messages of Nine Trey member Coke Boy Mad Max, bodyguard for French Montana. (By the way, he's still live - and Instagram has still not responded on TheShadeRoom)  

Now #6ix9ine says that Ms.TR3YWAY's mother owns 370 Madison. Objection. Judge Engelmayer: Substained as to speculation about ownership of the building.

 Turning to two shootings in Brooklyn on April 21, 2018. #6ix9ine says he was with Jorge. "I went to the bank, bought some clothing, got some food at a Spanish restaurant. I was getting ready for performance at Barclays Center...
Two guys are harassing me. Jorge is driving my Suburban. They pull up parallel, recording, mocking me. So Shotti pulls out a gun, opens their door and pistol whips them. We're telling Shotti to chill, it's a main street, Graham Avenue...

 The guys says, Come to Gates and Garvey. We drive away. There's a garbage truck. We get caught behind it. Shotti cocks the gun. Quote: "These Ns think I'm playin?" He runs toward the car. It goes into reverse. Shotti gets on 1 knee and starts firing off

Q: Mr Hernandez, what happened after that shooting? A: We went back to Kingston. Then later that night I had a performance at the Barclays Center, the Main Event fight. Adrien Broner against some other guy, I don't remember his name

#6ix9ine: Harv told me to stay away from Casanova, he was a b*tch ass N-word and a snitch.  Testimony turns to "Billy" - Inner City Press covered Judge Engelmayer's ruling admitting into evidence some but not all of the video

They played parts of "Billy" in the courtroom. Judge Engelmayer excluded parts of it, saying it was be too prejudicial...

 Now AUSA Longyear is asking #6ix9ine about the lyrics of Billy, Exhibit 608t. In the song, the first voice is Shotti. The song is directed at Casanova. Q: "Follow protocol Blood" - what does that mean? A: You know, protocol. Follow the politics of it...

AUSA Longyear asks about the line "I'm a killa too" - is it referring to Nine Trey?  #6ix9ine says flatly, "No." Refers to "the craft, you know, the art."

Now it turns to the Barclays Center. #6ix9ine "We're in a tunnel. The doors open and 30 of Casanova's people come rushing at us, 6 or 7 of us. They were trying to get to me but I made my way to the back." Shotti told Fuquan Lovick to pull out the gun and shoot it

AUSA Longyear: In the Barclays video, who is the gentleman in the black collared shirt? A: Jorge [the driver.] Q: And what's Fu Banga doing? A: He's throwing up Nine Trey. Q: What about the arm reaching in? A: Can you zoom in for me? I'm bad with my eyes.

Inner City Press wonders: will this throw-away line come up on cross-examination?

#6ix9ine: We watched the fight from the car. But before that, I got on Instagram and mocked Casanova. It's coming in as Exhibit 500a

They play the #6ix9ine mocking Casanova Instagram. Then Judge Engelmayer calls mid-afternoon break. Once jury out of room, he puts on the record the bases of his evidentiary rulings. Will there be an appeal? For now more on Patreon here.

Earlier, the answers spanned all the way from Times Square to Fulton Street in Brooklyn with a loaded gun on the subway, and to Citi Field in Queens, taking photos with Mister Met when news came on that Nuke had tried to rob Godfather Roland Martin.

 Here is how it went, after the mid-morning break:

#6ix9ine continued: "Harv said, Stopping picking and choosing when you wanna be gangster, when you show up and deal with a situation." [Elsewhere in the #SDNY, also in prison blues, Joshua Schulte appeared, charged with stealing info from the CIA]

Harv said, I'd rather have 10 lions than 100 sheep. 

#6ix9ine detailing split of Harv and Shotti, with Harv now on trial saying Shotti (who's pled guilty) is not as gangster as him

Harv told #6ix9ine to pawn his jewelry, get security and "live your Internet life... stop being billy."  Things seem to have been going south fast...

Shotti would shake the barricades outside the strip clubs and scream, we the mob, we Trey Way  Objection. But #6ix9ine continues.  Judge tell him, When lawyers object, I'm the 1 to answer, not u.  But he's already answered. Judge tells jury to disregard any explicit "I guess" statements.

Q: And how did Harv respond?  #6ix9ine: "He said, 'Respect this d*ck.... I'm laughing but I'm not playing."

#6ix9ine continues: we went to confront Trippie Redd in Times Square. But Frenchy was there, his protection when in New York City.... Trippie should have checked in with us, Nine Trey. We drive off because there's a lot of police presence

#6ix9ine...Shotti fires five or six shots into the sprinter van.  Q: what happened after the shots were fired?   A: The shots hit the car. 

Q: Turning to a robbery.  A: I was at 31 Kingston, my residence at the time. With Jorge Rivera, my driver

#6ix9ine: Shotti put a bullet in the gun. I started filming.  Q: why did you want to record?  A: To show that we robbed them. That they disrespected us--  Now video being shown: govt exhibit 600

 In the middle of Times Square in the middle of the day, #6ix9ine says, what the f*ck, I'm f*cking famous by now, & someone's gonna see me with a fully loaded gun in my hoodie.  We tried to flag some cabs down but they weren't stopping for us. So we take the train.

We took the A train from Times Sq to Fulton Street in Bklyn. Q: what happened to what you stole? The backpack?  A: It was put in 31 Kingston, my place of residence. It wasn't like a trophy or nothing.

His line by April: Ro was the godfather, Shotti was second, everyone was eating.   "We went to a strip club, Scarlets. Harv pushed Nuke. Nuke started laughing: you wanna do this right here? He made the motion like he had the gun in his hoodie."

 Then around April, Nuke robbed Ro. "I learned about it at a Mets game. We were taking a picture with Mister Met. Shotti is screaming on the phone, Nuke robbed Ro.  Jorge goes to get the car ready. Shotti meets Ro on Sterling. Actually, I don't know where...

Judge Engelmayer: Sustained.

Nuke was asking Ro to set Rainbow up for him. Ro said no, slipped out of the car.  Drama is mad that his car is all messed up. The window is shattered.  Going back: Nuke was drunk, not even trying to dodge the bullets. The gun jammed and they drove off.

Now gov't putting into evidence the video Nuke uploaded to his Instagram. 

Judge Engelmayer cuts in. The jury's lunch has arrived.

 AUSA Longyear: I'm not going to get in the way of lunch.
 
  The reporting will continue. For now more on Patreon here.

Earlier on Sptember 18, AUSA Longyear's first question: We were talking about the leadership structure of Nine Trey, right?

A: Yes. Now turning to the money..Did you have the understanding that the money you gave was for people behind the wall?

#6ix9ine: When they started taking the money. Say I would get $250,000, they would give me like $185,000 and take the rest. I was going shows, appearances, endorsements.

 #6ix9ine: They would send me the front end, half, with the back end in cash. Q: What was it that Shotti did with the money? A: At first I didn't ask any questions. Shotti was like, feed the wolves, feed the homies, support them.

 #6ix9ine: After Roland Martin came home, from prison, I learned... Shotti said, "Make sure these Ns are good they make sure we good." I had to go pay Frank White's wife two thousand dollars.

Reference was made to the Black Disciples. Many are wondering: where will 6ix9ine go after this?

#6ix9ine is identifying photographs: Harv, Seqo, Billy Ado - all from the "Wavy Baby 3" account, prosecutor says. 

Defense objects that the photos weren't shown on the screen.

AUSA Michael D. Longyear asks about Exhibit 501u. "That's me, Shotti and Nuke... the day I first met Nuke."  501j: Billy Ado, throwing up Nine Trey & holding a gun with a drum on it. (He adds again the definition: an attachment that holds more bullets.)  501o: Nuke & Harv.

501q: Shotti and another 9 Trey member with a red hoodie. And there's Mel Murda and Nuke. 501r: Me and Nuke in Nov-Dec. 501t: I'm on the bottom left, Harv is on the top left covering his face with the grey hoodie. Seqo Billy is crouched down on the right.

#69x9ine says, echoing yesterday's testimony: my main dispute with with Trippie Redd. "He was with another set of Bloods.... So was Casanova."  Gov't exhibit 24 is Trippie Redd, 24a his "name plate."

 Trippie Redd's manager gave us the address of his video shoot. I told Shotti I wanted something done about Trippie. Shotti: "Say less," we'll get on top of it.  We go to Red Hook or around there, industrial area. I'm in a Jeep. We see Trippie Redd's sprinter van Inner City Press @innercitypress · 1h We surveillanced it, waiting for Trippie Redd. Shotti said he had a few of the homies meeting up with us there. We stake out, Trippie Redd comes, gets in with 15 people. We follow him for an hour on the highway. I recall Harv coming in 4 door Honda

 The sprinter van gets to the hotel. We don't wanna get spotted. Shotti gets out, tells me to stay in the car. Harv parks parallel to the hotel. He's with like three other guys. Shotti comes back screaming, It's f-cking Trey Way, I love me Ns, we got that N

#6ix9ine: Shotti said Harv punched Trippi Reed in the mouth. (for some reason, Harv's lawyer has not objected - maybe it'll come up on cross-examination.)  At this point in time did Harv assume a role with your entourage? I used him as a body guard

 After the incident with Trippie Redd I saw that Harv was more of a doer. He's a big guy. I gave him the enforcer job. Q: At this point, what was Mr. Ellison's, Harv's, role in the gang? Judge Engelmayer: Basis? How does he know?

Shotti told me, quote, I'm the Big Homie. Obviously, Mel was the Godfather. And Harv just underneath. Q: were there other times Harv protected you? A: Gummo just came out. I was in a T-Mobile store, some dude was waiting for me. Harv came- Q: What he armed?

 Objection resolved, narrative continues: "The guy from the T Mobile store was sending me message so we went looking for him. I saw a gun in Harv's car."  Near 18 Locust, I was walking to Chase Bank to make a deposit. I ran into another 9 Trey member...

 #6ix9ine: He's called Snow, he did a podcast saying he's not down with that 'Rainbow head piece of shit.'  I called Shotti, and put him on Facetime with Snow. Shotti tells him, Love him like I love him.  I had another phone at the time. I contact Harv.... I put my phone on the charger. Then Mel Murda came. We start following Snow. We see him in the Brooklyn House hotel where I used to stay. Mel Murda tells Snow, don't touch him, don't look his way. Then Harv shows up with Billy Ado. He was armed.

 Q: Did you come to find out if anything happened to Snow after that?  A: A month after he was shot in the head.

 #6ix9ine: There was a tribute for the manager of A$AP Rocky. No one knew that Shotti was part of my entourage, so Security jumped him. We went to protect him, a huge brawl, people gettin stabbed, hit with big sticks.  AUSA: Here's a big stack of CDs

There's silent video of the brawl. Q: What are you and Nuke doing? A: Greeting each other. Doing the 9 Trey handshake. Q: Is that the handshake you testified about yesterday?  [Inner City Press: actually, he shook hands with himself yesterday.]

 Q: And what's Billy Ado doing in the video? A: He's stabbing the security guard.  Q: What's Harv holding? A: Like a three inch wooden stick. I seen Harv get hit in the face with that stick. He took the stick and beat up the guy who hit him.

Q: Did there come a time you got into a fight with others at an airport in LA? A: Yes. It was NBA All-Star weekend. At the airport there are these two girls exiting, Seqo and Billy Ado approached them flirting, lemme help you with your bags. The boyfriends came...

 The boyfriend said, they don't need help with their bags.  Harv punches the guy in the face to initiate the fight. I don't know why I ran out there, I don't know why.  Q: did you participate in the fight?  #6ix9ine: Yeah but I didn't land any punches.

 AUSA Longyear: Let's turn to page 2 of the group chat. What did you write?  A: I wrote, Yo we gotta run down Casanova, he came out with a diss song that I took as disrespect.  Q: Seqo makes a reference to "my bag." What does my bag mean?  A: It means my money.

 Q: What did Harv write? A: We big behind the wall. He meant that the Billies are big behind the prison wall. Objection! Overruled.

#6ix9ine: "Nine Trey, it's a worldwide thing."

 #6ix9ine: "We met up on Long Island. Prior to me giving Harv and Shotti money. They was falling out - who was tougher, who was closer to me, who was I giving more of the money to. The meeting consisted of, where is the money going? Why aren't other members eating?

 I gave Harv $25,000...I have Shotti another $30,000 for a hosting at a club, I was gonna sing a song.  Mel was like, "Where the money at?"  Shotti is like, I gotta take care of the homies. Homies gotta eat. We don't got no guns out here. We got to equip ourselves.

  Then Judge Engelmayer declared mid-morning break - and went into his robing room with one lawyer from each party, to discuss a "courthouse security issue." More on Patreon here.

 In the last segment of September 17, running to 4 pm, Hernandez started describing the structure of the gang, in prison and on the street, Godfather to five star generals. It went like this:  The AUSA asked, "When did you become a member of Nine Trey?" November 2017. Were you initiated? No. You had to shoot your 31...

#6ix9ine: to be initiated you had to do work. Like, cutting someone's face.  Mr Hernandez, but you were not initiated, right. Right. I just had to keep making hits and giving financial support to the gang. Equipping with guns. Like, so they could buy guns ... So what did you get from Nine Trey? "I would say my career. Credibility. Protection. All of the above." Trey Way was something what we could market. Q: Could you demonstrate the handshake? A: I need two people, but...

 Now #6ix9ine is shaking hands with himself, standing up so the jury can see. AUSA: "Who taught you that?" "I'm doing it with Shotti a lot." "The nine with your index finger and your thumb." Nuke taught me. Photo. "I think I was just getting the hang of it." 

 "We show up at a strip club in Brooklyn. Angels strip club, I don't want to be quoted." [There is a court reporter.] I wasn't making the sign right. He pulled me to the side. Yo, like, if you're going to be Nine Trey you have to make the sign right.

 Mr. Hernandez, did you ever see Mr. Ellison make the sign? "Yes." Cuing up another video.  "Your honor, there's a little technical issue." Engelmayer: Ok, very good.  "Just show the witness the opening frame of Exhibit 802." Pauses at 7 seconds on the B-word

 "Mr Hernandez if you could identify the people in the photograph." "I don't know the guy in the LA hat." "And what is Mel Murda wearing?" "Cincinnati Reds... He's the grandfather, I mean godfather, of the Nine Trey Bloods."  a/k/a Mel Matrix...

 A: "Does 9 Trey have a leadership structure?" Yes. There was a street line up and a prison line up. A: How did the prison line up work? "My understanding is that with the prison line up there was a higher up to get anything sanctioned on the street." Objection!

 Overruled. Now 6ix9ine says he spoke to Frank White and Magoo. "They could say who had ranking and who didn't." Q: Turning to the street line up, were there ranks? A: There was a godfather... twins... Five star general...

 Who occupied the positions? "Mel Murda was the godfather. Right under was Shotti... Seqo Billy was a five star."'

#6ix9ine: "Shotti told me if you take care of the people behind the wall, they'll take care of you." Judge Engelmayer says lunch will be ordered in for jurors tomorrow, to save time.

Judge: "Counsel I'll see you tomorrow." More on Patreon here.

 Earlier, Hernandez did begin at 2:10 pm and things quickly turned to Gummo and Kooda, the N-word and the Big Homie of Smurf Village in Bed-Stuy. Here's how it went:  "Your honor, the government calls Daniel Hernandez." He's in prison blues. Deputy Smallman just swore him in. It's on.

 Q: Mr Hernandez, where were you born? Bushwick, Brooklyn. Q: how far did you go in school? Like tenth grade. When did you start living in federal custody? When did you start cooperating? "The next day. The day after we were taken down."

 Q: were you a member of a gang? Yes. The Nine Trey Bloods. Q: what sort of things did 9 Trey do? Robberies, assaults, drugs... Q: do you recognize anyone in court? A: Anthony Ellison has a gray suit on. Mack has a brown suit on.

 Where'd you go to school? PS 59. Campos middle school. Legacy high school. Did you work? I started working at 13. My first job was at Youth Corps, for about 2 months. Didn't make a lot, so bussed tables with my brother. Then grocery store delivery boy 2 years

 #6ix9ine: "I landed another bus boy job. Then I became a rapper. Peter Rogers came into the store I worked in in Sept 2014 to buy tea and peanuts, asked me if I rapped. Said, You look cool. I made more like rock n' roll rap....

 Toured in Bratislava, Slovakia; Moscow... For all those shows I made about $2 thousand profit. I did it just for the experience. It changed in Sept 2017. Filmed a music video in #BedStuy, 370 Madison. Gov't exhibit 202 [Inner City Press has requested all exhibits]... More on Patreon here

 "Before I changed my style of rap, I liked this kid called Kooda, I thought he was talented, so I named the song after him." "Kooda was filmed in Brooklyn, intersection of Fulton Avenue and Utica, near Smurf Village. It is Nine Trey members who live there."

Now government plays (parts of) Kooda, again very loud.  6ix9ine testifying about the Big Homie in Smurf Village (!) Government pulls up transcript of Kooda lyrics, Exh 609t. Link here.  "If you replace N-word with 'people,' that's what I meant. No one understood how rainbow hair could be with the Bloods... Fifty means to be on point, to be aware. Objection: leading. Sustained.

Q: How did you come up with drafting those lyrics? Based on your time with Nine Trey, did you learn some of their lingo?" "Come again?"  Lingo. Judge Engelmayer says the jurors want their mid-afternoon break.

An aside: One might wonder why this prosecution is not in #EDNY. But not only are SDNY prosecutors grabby - this is also the rare gang case with Times Square shootouts...Aljermiah Mack's lawyer Louis Fasulo gets to cross examine Detective Deck, who is being evasive. Says no he doesn't have access to housing development videos, has to call to get them. No, didn't call in this case. (But got video, that's the point). Fasulo's cross didn't get very far. Anthony Ellison's lawyer Calvin Scolar  gets Detective Deck to describe man with deeply slashed face as "pretty calm." Now Judge Engelmayer has summoned all the lawyers to a whispered sidebar... Calvin Scholar asks Detective Deck what C-4 means: "All investigative leads have been exhausted." No re-direct; gov reading in stipulation about iPhone of Kifano "Shotti" Jordan. Then trial bogged down with government reading into evidence stipulation about Facebook, owner of Instagram, account of "Daniel Hernandez a/k/a Tekashi 6ix9ine;" Mack's jailhouse calls with Kristian Cruz.

 Judge Engelmayer declared a 15 minute "comfort break," from 11:12 to 11:27. Then the government said "Miss Ramirez" is the next witness. Moving the goal posts, or pulling the football back like in Charlie Brown... Watch this site. For now, more on Patreon here.

 On September 16 the 16 jurors were picked. Thread here. (We saw but will not name them). Then the government and the two defendants' lawyers made their opening arguments. More on Patreon here.

   Assistant US Attorney Jonathan Rebold said Nine Trey is guilty of armed robberies, assaults. He said, in coming days you'll learn a lot about slang and internal conflicts. Then he brought up Daniel Hernandez and his "stage name Tekashi #6ix9ine." He said Ellison kidnapping Hernandez then slashed someone else's face open.

  As to Mack, AUSA Rebold linked him to drugs including Ecstasy, said Mack tried to have a top Nine Trey leader murdered. He said this will be proved with testimony of police officers, and of the doctor who treated Hernandez. He mentioned videos but not Billy, see below.

  He said cell phone tower records show where Ellison was, and that wiretaps have Mack talking of drug dealing. "Finally you'll hear testimony from Hernandez, Hernandez's driver and others.. They are criminals. They have committed serious crimes."

  Then Mack's lawyer Alex Huot said, "this case is about trying to establish guilty by association. This case is about labeling - 'Nine Trey!' - as evidence of conspiracy. He said, let's talk about college fraternities -- leading at least Inner City Press to wonder, would  he reference #VarsityBlues? He did not, at least not directly. He said, if members of the fraternity, at another school, go off and do something wrong, everyone is not held responsible. Then, "there are 50 states in the US. New Yorkers are not responsible for what Iowans do... What happens in Iowa says in Iowa. [Echoes of Bill De Blasio?]

  Huot said, you'll hear as first witness Daniel Hernandez "self described King of New York" who picked fights on social media. [A Trump echo?] He said, what Hernandez will say about Mack is hearsay. "#6ix9ine does not heed these words."  

  Ellison's lawyer Deveraux Cannick said: the kidnapping of Daniel Hernandez is a hoax, a Jussie Smollett if you will.

 The jurors were let go, to return to Courtroom 318 in 40 Foley Square at 9:30 am, the lawyers at 9. Herandez / 6ix9ine is expected mid morning. Inner City Press will live tweet it - watch this site. For now, more on Patreon here.

  In the run up to the trial of Aljermiah Mack and Anthony Ellison, on September 10 questions such as whether the jurors should as they deliberate get access to transcripts (yes) and if a bigger courtroom is needed for Daniel Hernandez, natch, were debated.

  U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Paul Engelmayer, who worked late the day before on an immigration habeus corpus argument, here, said he would prefer to keep the trial in his own courtroom on the 13th floor of 40 Foley Square. But defense counsel complained they are too cramped; each defendant will have ten to fifteen friends and family members coming each day.

  The defense wanted to keep from the jurors while they deliberate the transcripts of the calls they will hear. Judge Engelmayer did not agree to this, leading at least those observer to wonder if the defense erred in agreeing that the transcripts are accurate.

  In the recent conviction of Ernest Murphy for crack conspiracy in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn before Circuit Judge Richard J. Sullivan, the defense only stipulated to the accuracy of the date and time of calls. Here, the defense gave it all away. One wonders if jurors would have a harder time using these calls to convict if they did not have the transcripts.

  Judge Engelmayer inquired into Instagram handles and how they will be used on the summary charts now so common in SDNY criminal trials. Some questions, he left for the trial itself. Will it be in ceremonial courtroom 318, which used to house arraignments and everything else? Or in Courtroom 110, where UN briber Ng Lap Seng was convicted?

  For now what is known is that not only when Daniel Hernandez / Tekashi 6ix9ine testifies under his cooperation deal, but also for the selection of jurors, a larger courtroom will be used. Judge Engelmayer to his credit proposed to the lawyers allowing media access to the jury selection sidebar discussions. But why not all sidebars throughout the trial? Inner City Press and @SDNYLIVE will have more on this. For now, more on Patreon here.

Back on September 6 Kafano Jordan was up for sentencing on September 6 on two firearms counts he pled guilty to, and the courtroom was more full than usual for proceedings. The rap connection of one co-defendant Daniel Hernandez explained some of the attendees. More on Patreon here. But there were family members too. Inner City Press rode the elevator up with Kifano Jordan's uncle, who said he was very worried.

 The mandatory minimum sentence was 15 years, and that is what Judge Engelmayer ultimately gave. In doing so he ran through Kifano Jordan's year of gun play, and more obscure state crimes before them. Defense lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman said, "People don't hire me to plead guilty, they hire me to go to trial." (Full disclosure: Lichtman gave Inner City Press an update earlier in the day, as it got off the delayed subway, on his OneCoin crypto-currency case.)

 More on Patreon here.

 Kifano Jordan came from Trinidad; Lichtman said his father essential abandoned him and he joined a gang, Nine Trey, in order to fit in. When he gets out in 15 years, Probation can search his computer and phone, if those technologies are still in use; he would face a 25 year mandatory minimum if he used a gun again for a crime.

  Judge Engelmayer, who starts the related trial of remaining defendants later this month, recounted how he has overseen Bronx gangs cases with 76 and 26 defendants; he spoke of the need for general deterrence. This particular sentence will get multiply-covered. But most in the SDNY do not. Watch this site.

Tekashi 6ix9ine's video "Billy" was deemed partially admissible as trial evidence against his Nine Trey Bloods gang co-defendants on September 4 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Paul A. Engelmayer.

   After citing a Federal Rule of Evidence about statements of a co-conspirator, Judge Engelmayer said he would exclude portions of the video showing "extreme misogyny." He chided the US Attorney's Office for not having addressed the issue and urged them to do better in future evidentiary arguments. Then Engelmayer declared a comfort break.

  Here is the video.  Inner City Press will have more on this.

Faheem Walter while awaiting sentencing in the Metropolitan Correctional Center used a contraband smart phone to live-stream on Instagram Live, here. This came up at his August 14 sentencing in the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods case best known for the involvement of rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine a/k/a Daniel Hernandez. Walter's lawyer said he wishes he'd never met Hernandez. More on Patreon, here.

  Judge Engelmayer wrote off the video as a statement of "I'm still standing," not any walk-by from the acceptance of responsibilities for which he lowered Walter's sentencing guideline to 68 to 74 months. He showed some mild surprise that the phone got in to the MCC for live-streaming.

  But will there be any follow up? There wasn't when Inner City Press on July 31 exclusively reported that Jeffrey Epstein was being allowed to dominate, all day every day, one of only two legal meeting rooms in the MCC's Special Housing Unit, just by having the money to have one lawyer after another come in and sit with him.

  Judge Engelmayer, after sitting revising his sentence in front of a quiet, half filled courtroom, looked up and read highlights from letter submitted by Walter's family members, asking in each case if the author was in the courtroom. Then after crediting Walter for not using the gun he carried, and for the colostomy bag he had has to use since himself being shot, Engelmayer imposed a below guidelines sentence of 62 months. This drew applause.

 Mack's lawyer Louis Fasulo said his client is eager for a speedy resolution; he will begin reviewing discovery immediately. The government seized two of Mack's phones when he was arrested on June 6; they are seeking search warrants for those and his Instagram account. The whole proceeding had the feeling of a very genteel push to plead guilty. We'll have more on this

Back on May 9 when Lovick, also known as Fu Banga, offered his own description of what he did on April 21, 2018 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Judge Engelmayer did not accept it. 

Lovick said that outside the door of a boxer, a group ran at him; he drew a gun and fired it into the air to make them step back.   

Judge Engelmayer said this allocution wouldn't do, with its implication of self defense and failure to mention the Nine Trey Gangsta Blood organization. He urged Lovick, still in chains, to spend ten minutes with his defense lawyer Jeffrey G. Pittell to discuss a prepared allocation which would jibe with counts six and seven of the superseding indictment to which he was ostensibly pleading guilty.   

Pittell, with whom Inner City Press spoke just outside the courtroom, had previously filed a motion to suppress and to dismiss. He had an interesting argument that the New York State crime of menacing - trying to cause the fear of bodily harm - would not fit even the superseding lesser included charge to which Lovick was pleading guilty. Pittell told Inner City Press this is an issue of first impression.   

But as Judge Engelmayer put it when after two breaks he accepted Lovick's guilty plea, lawyers can always make arguments but it was his view that there was no real claim of self-defense in this case. Pittell referred to a video of the incident but Judge Engelmayer said he had not seen it. Venue was also questioned; that too was smoothed over.

As more and more of the initial defendants in the overall USA v. Jones / Tekashi 6ix 9ine case plead guilty, to some the remaining question is the pleading-out of the defendant(s) who are NOT affiliated with the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods. Inner City Press will continue to cover this case. For now, a bit more on Patreon, here.

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