The defence attorney for a man accused of kidnapping and robbing Tekashi69 claims the US rapper staged the crime to increase his publicity.
Attorney Devereaux Cannick says the Dummy Boy hit-maker orchestrated the 2018 kidnapping to generate hype around his next album release.
The claims were made on Friday (local time) following Manhattan federal court Judge Paul Engelmeyer's decision to push the trial for Cannick's client, Anthony Ellison, back to September 16.
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Ellison, an alleged member of the Nine Trey Bloods street gang, has been accused of kidnapping the rapper alongside suspected accomplice Aljermiah Mack. Ellison has pleaded not guilty.
"No robbery or kidnapping or assault happened," said Cannick.
"He trolls every time he's about to drop another album... gotta get that buzz up. That's how he makes money."
Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, is expected to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea deal by testifying against his alleged kidnappers in exchange for avoiding jail time.
An indictment filed in January by US attorney Geoffrey Berman charged the rapper with participation "in the operation and management" of the Nine Trey Bloods, reports Rolling Stone.
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In February, the 23-year-old pleaded guilty to nine charges including racketeering, weapons possession and drug distribution, carrying a minimum sentence of 47 years in prison.
The suspected kidnapping took place on July 22, 2018 in Brooklyn, New York. Tekashi69 claims he was robbed of his jewellery and pistol-whipped.
Cannick claims the controversial rapper's own social media appears to show him unscathed in the days following the attack.
Tekashi69 has previously been charged with using a child in a sexual performance. He pleaded guilty to filming a minor performing oral sex on an adult man in 2015.
He is due to be sentenced on January 24, 2020.
Newshub.
