In Other Media-eg New Statesman, AJE, FP, Georgia, NYT,  Azerbaijan, CSM Click here to contact us     .

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Thread Scope
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - Vulture

SDNY COURTHOUSE, April 7 – Daniel Hernandez a/k/a Tekashi 6ix9ine was sentenced to 24 months of total imprisonment on December 18 in a proceeding live tweeted by Inner City Press before U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Engelmayer.

   6ix9ine was ordered released by an Order that at the US' request Judge Engelmayer withheld until 4 pm on April 2, analyzed on Patreon here, 2-minute podcast here.

 Now on April 7 Judge Engelmayer has outright denied the request for release based on asthma filed by 6ix9ine's initial co-defendant, now in the MCC, Denard Butler: "The Court has received a request from counsel for defendant Denard Butler seeking Butler’s compassionate release from the Metropolitan Detention Center (“MDC”) in Brooklyn, New York, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c), in light of the heightened risk that the COVID-19 pandemic presents for him. Dkt. 453. The Government opposes this request. Dkt. 458. Butler has been in prison since January 30, 2019. On June 5, 2019, he pled guilty to one count of participating in a racketeering conspiracy for his involvement in the Brooklyn-based Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods gang. On January 30, 2020, this Court sentenced Butler to a term of 60 months’ imprisonment to be followed by three years’ supervised release. On April 3, 2020, Butler filed a letter motion seeking a modification of his sentence on grounds relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dkt. 453. Butler asks the Court to modify his sentence to enable him serve the remainder of his prison term—approximately 45 months—in home confinement. Dkt. 453. Butler notes that he suffers from asthma and bradycardia, a heart condition. He argues that removing him from the MDC would reduce the risk that he will contract COVID-19.

On April 6, 2020, the Government filed a letter in opposition. Dkt. 458. It opposes Butler’s early release for reasons including that Butler has yet to serve the bulk of his sentence, that he has a long and violent criminal history, and that his instant offense is serious...  finding that Butler continues to pose a danger to the community and that the § 3553(a) factors do not support a reduction of sentence, the Court denies Butler’s motion for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). SO ORDERED. PAUL A. ENGELMAYER  United States District Judge Dated: April 7, 2020 New York, New York."

Inner City Press will more on all these cases, but notes for it did before: "Denard's CJA lawyer wrote that 'on April 21, 2018, at Barclays Center when a shoot took place, he was only in the lobby and never even got inside of the Barclays Center because they had sold out. He clearly was not even present whre the shooting took place.'"

the US Attorney's Office has asked the previously freed co-defendant Kintea McKenzie a/k/a Kooda B have a new restriction imposed: no social media. They write: "At approximately 7:00 p.m. on March 31, the defendant was released from the MCC subject to the same conditions of the defendant’s pretrial release. On April 1, 2020 a member of the NYPD sent a clip of a video posted to a social media account that appeared to depict the defendant and several other individuals partying at the defendant’s residence shortly after the defendant arrived home. The individuals are close together, and one of the individuals appears to be smoking a marijuana cigarette and drinking an alcoholic beverage. Discussion The Court’s April 2 Order directed the Government to set forth the view of Pretrial Services (“Pretrial”) in response to the defendant’s actions. Pretrial’s response is as follows: Based on the information received, Pretrial Services believes that remand is warranted in this case. The defendant’s previous bail conditions included “no contact with any gang member.” According to the NYPD, the video in question was posted by a known gang member. The parties agreed, after learning of the defendant’s quarantine status in MCC, to modify the defendant’s release conditions to permit him to be released immediately instead of waiting for the quarantine period to end. While placement on location monitoring equipment does not control who enters the defendant’s residence, the defendant’s failure to adhere to social distancing guidelines have and will continue to alter the timeline by which any location monitoring conditions can be effectively enforced. The Court notified Mr. McKenzie that it expects scrupulous compliance with all conditions of release. Pretrial Services believes that the defendant has demonstrated the opposite and that his bail should be revoked. The Government shares Pretrial’s frustration with the defendant’s conduct. The defendant used his asthma diagnosis in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to seek release from the MCC. As set forth in the Government’s opposition to the defendant’s motion for bail, the Government was skeptical of the severity of the defendant’s purported asthma condition because, during his July 12, 2019 interview with the Probation Department, the defendant did not report any medical conditions nor did he report taking any medication. The defendant’s reckless behavior immediately following his release put himself and others at danger and undermined the primary reason supporting Court’s rationale granting his release: to allow the defendant to distance himself from others in an effort to avoid contracting COVID-19.1   1 Pretrial’s recommendation for remand relies in part on an NYPD officer’s report to Pretrial that the individual who posted the video online is a known gang member. At this time, the Government does not have sufficient information to opine on whether the individual posting the video is a gang member."

 On delaying docketing of the order to free #6ix9ine, AUSA Longyear wrote, "Delayed docketing of the Order will allow law enforcement agents to ensure that Mr. Hernandez is transported safely and securely from the facility where he is currently housed to a residential address previously approved by the Probation Department (the “Residence”). The Government will alert the Court as soon as Mr. Hernandez has arrived at the Residence, at which time the Government will have no objection to Order being publicly filed. The Government respectfully submits that delayed docketing of the Order for a short period of time will ensure the safety of law enforcement agents and Mr. Hernandez upon his release from custody. The Government has consulted with Lance Lazzaro, counsel for Mr. Hernandez, who consents to this request."

Judge Engelmayer's order: "The Court accordingly finds that, in light of the heightened medical risk presented to Mr. Hernandez by the COVID-19 pandemic, there are extraordinary and compelling reasons to reduce Mr. Hernandez’s sentence in the manner requested––to wit, releasing Mr. Hernandez from custody and requiring him to serve his first four months of supervised release in home confinement, on specified conditions. This conclusion is supported by the application of the § 3553(a) factors. Mr. Hernandez has served 17 months in federal custody––the substantial majority of his prison sentence. And although the § 3553(a) factors (particularly the seriousness of Mr. Hernandez’s racketeering and related offenses) earlier led the Court to require that Mr. Hernandez serve his entire sentence (net of statutory good time) in prison, § 3553(a) requires a sentencing court consider the “history and characteristics of the defendant” and “the need to provide the defendant with needed . . . medical care.” 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Viewed now in the light of a raging and virulent pandemic that has entered federal prisons in New York City and that poses a special risk to Mr. Hernandez’s health, these factors, together, now counsel allowing him to be released and serve his first four months of supervised release in home confinement. For reasons including those set out at length at Mr. Hernandez’s sentencing, the Court is, further, persuaded that Mr. Hernandez––having been prosecuted, pled guilty, and publicly cooperated against members of the gang, the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, in concert with whom his violent acts were committed––no longer will present a meaningful danger to the community if at liberty. And the conditions of Mr. Hernandez’s forthcoming home confinement will meaningfully restrict his freedom of movement during the next four months. Accordingly, finding that extraordinary and compelling reasons warranting a reduction of Mr. Hernandez’s sentence, that Mr. Hernandez does not pose a danger to the community, that the Case 1:18-cr-00834-PAE Document 451 Filed 04/02/20 Page 7 of 8 8 § 3553(a) factors now support a reduction of sentence, and that the reduction sought is consistent with the Sentencing Commission’s policy statement, the Court grants Mr. Hernandez’s motion for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) and orders his release. The Court will, by separate order, set out the terms of Mr. Hernandez’s release on home confinement for the first four months of his five-year term of supervised release. For persuasive reasons relating to security, the Government has asked the Court, in a letter properly filed under seal, to briefly delay the docketing of this order. Accordingly, the docketing of this order––and the Court’s accompanying order setting out the terms of Mr. Hernandez’s home confinement––is to be delayed until 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, 2020." Watch this site.

 Inner City Press reported, other others picked up with credit, that on March 22 Hernandez / 69's lawyer Lance Lazzaro asked Judge Engelmayer to order his client released citing his asthma and shortness of breath, Coronavirus and the case in the MDC in Brooklyn (although 69 is it seems in the private contractor GEO facility in Queens, the adherence to BOP protocol and inclusion in its COVID-19 statistics is not clear).

  On March 25 Judge Engelmayer issued a ruling, denying the request but instructing the Bureau of Prisons what he would have ruled, if he'd known of Coronavirus. But Lazzaro argued that his client is structurally unable to request relief for BOP, without the US Attorney's Office consenting in some way.

  Now on the evening of March 31 Inner City Press can report that Lazzaro, though another, made a final plea to the BOP, which turned him down:

From: "Shannon Robbins" at bop.gov Subject: Re: Daniel Hernadez #86335-054 Date: March 31, 2020 at 1:52:52 PM EDT To: "Elis Pacheco"

Mr. Pacheco, Mr. Hernandez is currently housed at the GEO facility in the custody of the US Marshals Service. We do not have any authority or oversight of his case as he is not in a BOP facility. If the Court orders a compassionate release for him, that information will be provided to the US Marshals Service and the GEO facility for processing. I am hopeful this information will be helpful. Shannon Shannon Robbins, Section Chief Designation and Sentence Computation Center 346 Marine Forces Drive Grand Prairie, Texas 75051

 So Lazzaro has renewed his appeal to Judge Engelmayer: " BOP has now denied Mr. Hernandez’s administrative request for compassionate release. As per the attached e-mail dated March 31, 2020, Section Chief Shannon Robbins with BOP’sDesignation and Sentence Computation Center, Mr. Hernandez’s administrative request to BOP for compassionate release was denied because as a non-BOP inmate, BOP is refusing to grant Mr. Hernandez compassionate release. According to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c), a court may, upon a finding of extraordinary and compelling circumstances, reduce the prison term of a defendant’s sentence if BOP has denied compassionate release after the defendant has exhausted all administrative remedies with BOP. Accordingly, in this case, your Honor now has the statutory authority to modify Mr. Hernandez’s sentence so as to immediately release him from prison." Watch this site.

   The US Attorney's Office, AUSA Longyear, did not consent to Kooda's release pending sentencing. But on March 30, Judge Engelmayer granted release on conditions: "ORDER as to Kintea McKenzie (11): The Court accordingly grants Mr. McKenzie's application for release, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3145(c), on the same bond and conditions upon which he was released prior to entering his plea of guilty and during the two weeks following that. This release is to occur only upon the instatement of all of these conditions, including securing written confirmation by the co-signers of the bond of their willingness to again so serve. Mr. McKenzie's release is to last only as long as the current public health emergency, or until otherwise ordered. The Court further notifies Mr. McKenzie that it expects scrupulous compliance with all conditions of release, and that a violation of any condition will subject Mr. McKenzie to immediate remand. Mr. McKenzie's sentencing remains scheduled for June 24, 2020, a date the parties should treat as firm. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer on 3/30/2020)."

Here's from the docket, on 69: "ORDER as to (18-Cr-834-04) Daniel Hernandez. The Court has received a letter request from defense counsel seeking a modification of the sentence of defendant Daniel Hernandez. Dkt. 437. Counsel represents that Mr. Hernandez is expected to be released from custody on or about July 31, 2020. Counsel asks the Court to modify the sentence to provide that the remaining months of Mr. Hernandez's prison sentence be served pursuant to home confinement, to reduce the risk that Mr. Hernandez, who has been diagnosed with asthma, will contract COVID-19 in prison. Id. The Court has also received a letter from the Government opposing this request, largely on the ground that the Court lacks authority to grant this request, Dkt. 438, and a letter reply from counsel for Mr. Hernandez, Dkt. 439. The Court is constrained to deny Mr. Hernandez's request. Having canvassed potential sources of legal authority, the Court concludes that it lacks the legal authority to thus modify his sentence. And counsel for Mr. Hernandez, in his letters, has not identified any available such authority. Briefly:...[See this Order]... The Court, however, is prepared to state the following, as it may be instructive guidance to the Bureau of Prisons in considering an application by Mr. Hernandez for release on home confinement. The Court's judgment at sentencing was that the § 3553(a) factors required imposition of the sentence imposed. And based on the same assessment, the Court later rejected Hernandez's motion to modify his sentence to substitute home confinement for the balance of his term of imprisonment, Dkt. 409, on the grounds that such a modification "would disserve the assembled 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors, including that Mr. Hernandez's sentence reflect the seriousness of his crimes." Dkt. 411. At the time of sentencing, however, the Court did not know and could not have known that the final four months of Mr. Hernandez's sentence would be served at a time of a worldwide pandemic to which persons with asthma, like Mr. Hernandez, have heightened vulnerability. Section 3553(a) instructs a sentencing court to consider, inter alia, the "history and characteristics of the defendant" and "the need to provide the defendant with needed... medical care." 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Had the Court known that sentencing Mr. Hernandez to serve the final four months of his term in a federal prison would have exposed him to a heightened health risk, the Court would have directed that these four months be served instead in home confinement. The Court accordingly denies Mr. Hernandez's motion for relief. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer on 3/25/2020)(bw) ."

 On March 24, after Assistant US Attorney Michael Longyear replied, Lazzaro wrote a second time, that "It is somewhat ironic and extremely unfair that, given Mr. Hernandez has provided substantial assistance to the government and the government maintains a hold on Mr. Hernandez as a cooperator, the government has effectively prevented him from being a BOP prisoner and the government now opposes Mr. Hernandez’s release because he has not made an administrative appeal with BOP. Most inmates with Mr. Hernandez’s 24-month sentence would already be on home confinement or a half-way house. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 3621, 3624. Title 18, section 3624(c) of the United States Code requires the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that prisoners serving a term of imprisonment spend a portion of the final months of that term under conditions that will afford the prisoner a reasonable opportunity to adjust to and prepare for reentry into the community. As a non-BOP prisoner, Mr. Hernandez is incapable of taking any administrative action with BOP. Mr. Hernandez has done everything that the government has ever asked, and in return, the government now opposes Mr. Hernandez’s request for home confinement, in an attempt to protect his health, based upon his inability to perform an administrative function which the government itself has made impossible. Therefore, given Mr. Hernandez’s high risk of death or serious complications if he contracts COVID-19, please issue an order modifying his sentence to allow him to begin home confinement immediately. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has stated recently that New York City can expect a significant surge and spike of coronavirus cases within the next couple of weeks. As stated today by the Trump coronavirus task force, this country has seen 52,000 COVID-19 cases to date, with 685 deaths and 144 deaths today alone. Additionally, 60 percent of all new COVID-19 cases are coming out of the New York City metro area."  We'll have more on this.

On March 9 Inner City Press reported that the US Bureau of Prison has listed under "Daniel Hernandez, White, 23, Not in BOP Custody" a release date of August 2, 2020, here.

 As a cooperator, #6ix9ine has been in the GEO private prison in Queens. Meanwhile Inner City Press' reporting of the proceedings before SDNY Judge Engelmayer has been demonetized by Google for including from the transcript the F-word and N-word. These were said. More on all this to follow.

 On February 17 the US Attorney's Office asked Judge Engelmayer to sentence one of the two defendants convicted at trial with 69's testimony, Aljermiah "Nuke" Mack, to at least thirty years in prison.

 On February 24, Inner City Press live-tweeted the more than three hour sentencing proceeding, here.  Judge Engelmayer came out at a sentencing guideline of 235 to 293 months. As well as reading from apparently every letter received, Judge Engelmayer said that not accepting responsibility, going to trial despite extensive audio and other evidence, militated years higher than he would otherwise have gone.

  He compare Mack to Jamel Jones, noting that Jamel not Nuke was caught on take threatening to "super-violated" #6ix9ine but also had less of a criminal history. He cited Mack robbing Roland Martin of a Range Rover and a Rolex, brandishing a gun. He focused on selling fentanyl as heroin.

  Judge Engelmayer imposed a sentence on Aljermiah Mack of 204 months or 17 years. The government urged that it not be on the East Coast but Judge Engelmayer proposed near NYC, pending language to be submitted by defense attorney Louis Fasulo overnight.

 Anthony "Harv" Elisson's sentencing has been pushed back to April 1. Inner City Press will be there.

  On February 12 another of 69's initial co-defendants Fuguan Lovick a/k/a Fu Banga entered in shackles for sentencing by Judge Engelmayer. Inner City Press aimed to at least partially live tweet, but it was not possible: no phone use in courtroom and for various reasons not otherwise possible. The government was asking for a sentence of from 90 to 96 months in jail, 84 of them for pleading guilty to shooting a gun at the Barclay's Center in downtown Brooklyn. Lovick declined to speak (he had written a letter); his lawyer Jeffrey Pittel asked for one day on Count 6.

   Judge Engelmayer noted that while Lovick had a number of run ins with the law since 1999, none in the past seven years, and jobs in Home Depot and construction. His father made him sell heroin; he witnessed a murder on the way to school.

  As to the shot, Judge Engelmayer said that Daniel Hernandez was to give a performance and Lovick shot a gun over the heads of a rival rapper's entourage.

 Judge Engelmayer: "I should say that many shots taken in the Barclays Center miss" - then he credited Lovick with missing his gun shot on purpose, but still said it was dangerous. He imposed a sentence of 85 months, then three years of Supervised Release, in Connecticut where Lovick's son lives. He wished Lovick, and two relatives in the gallery, well. And Inner City Press, prohibited from live tweeting the thoughtful sentencing, ran and wrote this. We'll have more, including on April 1.

Inner City Press covered the trial Hernandez testified at, and the other sentencings in the case and will continue to. The case is US v. Jones, 18-cr-834 (Engelmayer). More on Patreon here.

***

Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.

Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA

Mail: Box 20047, Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017

Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

 Copyright 2006-2019 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com for