Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was released into house arrest on Thursday, over fears that his chronic asthma make him vulnerable to coronavirus, the musician’s lawyer said.
“He’s out and he’s very happy to be released,” defense attorney Lance Lazzaro told NBC News.
The rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, had been housed at a private facility under contract with the federal Bureau of Prisons. He was serving time after pleading guilty to multiple counts of racketeering, firearms offenses and drug trafficking.
Citing safety concerns, Lazzaro declined to reveal which private lockup his client had been at and also refused to say where he would stay for the final four months of his two-year sentence.
The 23-year-old artist’s defense team had convinced a judge to ask the prison officials to consider releasing him due to the pandemic.
U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer wrote that he didn’t have legal authority to change the sentence, but issued “instructive guidance” for jailers to consider early release to home confinement.
The rapper on Thursday did not show any symptoms of coronavirus, according to his lawyer.
“At some point I’m guessing yes” he’ll be tested for the virus, Lazzaro said. “When it becomes readily available.”
Hernandez last year flipped on members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, a gang founded by prisoners on Rikers Island, the notorious New York City jail.
His testimony helped convict gang leaders Anthony “Harv” Ellison and Aljermiah “Nuke” Mack in October on racketeering conspiracy, connected to their alleged gang activity.
Back in September, 6ix9ine told a court that his role had been to “just keep making hits and be the financial support for the gang … so they could buy guns and stuff like that.”
