6ix9ine’s Kidnapper Wants New Trial, Claims Rapper’s Trippie Redd Beef Was Staged
Two months after being found guilty of kidnapping 6ix9ine, Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods member Anthony "Harv" Ellison wants a new trial.
According to documents obtained by XXL, attorneys for Ellison, who was convicted of the July 22, 2018 kidnapping of 6ix9ine as well as maiming and assault with a dangerous weapon on Oct. 3, filed a motion to have his conviction thrown out. He also wants a new trial for the case.
In the motion, Ellison's attorneys Deveraux Cannick and Calvin Scholar contend there’s not enough evidence to link Ellison to the criminal charges leveled against him in the first case. In the docs, they also allege that 6ix9ine’s beef with Trippie Redd was staged for the sake of publicity.
"During trial, the government elicited testimony that Mr. Ellison was first hired as security after coming to the defense of Mr. Hernandez during a staged publicity 'beef' between Hernandez and a rapper named Trippie Redd," reads one portion of the docs.
"The evidence was more than sufficient to establish that the 'beef' between Hernandez and Redd was a publicity stunt," the doc continues. "The two rappers made songs about one another. Moreover, Redd’s own manager sent Redd’s location to Hernandez ostensibly so that there could be some type of staged confrontation... After coming to Hernandez’s defense at the staged publicity event, Mr. Ellison became Hernandez’ bodyguard and part of Hernandez’s entourage."
This isn't the first time Ellison's legal team has accused Tekashi of lying for the sake of promotion. In August, Cannick accused Tekashi of faking his own July 2018 robbery in order to promote his music.
As for Trippie, this isn't the first time the rapper's name has come up during the course of this entire legal saga. While testifying at Ellison's trial in September, 6ix9ine alleged that Trippie was once a member of the 5-9 Brims gang. Tekashi also discussed his November 2017 altercation with Trippie in a Manhattan hotel lobby.
Ellison's co-defendant Aljermiah "Nuke" Mack, who was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy and conspiring to distribute narcotics in October, also filed a motion asking for an acquittal on Monday.
In the meantime, 6ix9ine, who pleaded guilty to several federal charges back in January, is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18. During his September testimony, Tekashi said that because he cooperated with federal authorities he expected to be released from prison in 2020.
See 22 Hip-Hop-Related Police Raids