Troubled rapper Tekashi69 has been arrested and appeared at an arraignment hearing in New York City along with four associates on a range of gang-related charges.
The admitted child sex offender is facing a minimum of 32 years in prison and a maximum life sentence, reports Rolling Stone.
Tekashi69 was denied bail in a New York court on Monday (local time), with the judge saying he still posed a danger to the community even if he was placed under house arrest, surrendered his passport and paid US$1 million bail.
"[Tekashi69] is a member of a violent sect of the Bloods [gang]... this defendant participated in multiple acts of violence," Assistant US Attorney Michael Longyear reportedly told the court.
- Tekashi69 faces jail, sex offender registration after child porn offence
- Tekashi69 meets long lost family in Mexico, dishes out thousands of dollars
The arrests were made as part of a joint operation of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security and New York City police.
According to the federal indictment, the accused are members and associates of the Nine Trey Bloods, and have dealt drugs all over New York as well as carrying out shootings of rivals, amongst other alleged crimes.
Tekashi69 himself is accused of committing an armed robbery in April, while a shooting at the Barclays Center in New York is also mentioned in the indictment. That incident is said to have stemmed from the group's rap beef with Cassanova.
The Nine Trey Bloods are also accused of selling heroin, fentanyl, ecstasy and cannabis in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, reports the New York Daily News.
There's a total of 17 counts in the indictment, alleging crimes dating back to 2013.
"Tekashi appeared calm in court, even though his hands and feet were shackled. His family, including his mother, was present during the arraignment," reports TMZ.
Tekashi69 - aka 6ix9ine, real name Daniel Hernandez - reached number three on the US singles chart earlier this year with 'Fefe', his collaboration with Nicki Minaj.
But despite his musical successes, he's frequently in trouble with the law.
The 'Gummo' hitmaker narrowly avoided time behind bars earlier this month when he was sentenced to four years' probation for violating the terms of a plea agreement, reached after his 2015 using of a child in a sexual performance.
Prosecutors wanted Tekashi69 to spend up to three years in state prison and register as a sex offender after filming a 13-year-old girl in a sexual performance, which he posted online and pleaded guilty to.
The case would have been closed if he'd remained on good behaviour for two years - but he isn't too keen on being well behaved. In May, Tekashi69 was arrested for allegedly attacking a 16-year-old in Texas, and later that month in New York for allegedly driving with an expired license and assaulting a police officer.
Tekashi69, who claimed last week to have fired his entire management team, has also seemingly been targeted in two shootings this year. In October, his bodyguard was hospitalised after a shooting in New York, while earlier this month the set of a music video he was filming was shot at.
The rapper was also hospitalised after a violent armed robbery in July.
Tekashi69's lawyer Lance Lazzaro plans to appeal his bail being denied.
Newshub.
