Anthony “Harv” Ellison, the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods member who kidnapped 6ix9ine in July 2018 was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

After a long trial which saw the slamming of 6ix9ine by Ellison’s lawyer, the sentence was issued by Judge Paul Engelmayer after Ellison was convicted for the kidnapping in the fall 2019 trial. He was also convicted for another act of Nine Trey-related violence: a bloody incident in October 2018, when he slashed Mark Hodby, an innocent bystander who was friends with the target, then 6ix9ine manager Kifano “Shotti” Jordan just to send a message.

As much as the sentencing was based on the kidnapping of 6ix9ine, the majority of the talk in the courtroom was centred around the slashing of an innocent person with the intent to send a message to a gang member. 

Anthony ‘Harv’ Ellison was sentenced to 24 years in prison

Judge Engelmayer mentioned how horrific the act was as Mark Hobdy “was entirely a blameless person,” just caught between Ellison and Jordan in a gang war, and he had noticed Ellison showed no empathy for his victim. 

The judge went on to say: “You carved up a human being’s face for no reason other than to send a message,” Engelmayer told Ellison. “You personally scarred Mark Hobdy for life.” 

To the defense of Ellison, his attorney Deveraux Cannick, tried to blame the whole situation on 6ix9ine, saying: “If he didn’t bring violence to Nine Trey, then he certainly profited mightily from it.”  Cannick then brought up alleged examples of crimes the gang had been involved in to advance 6ix9ine’s career. He said: “He did those things because it helped him to the tune of millions of dollars,” then in comparison to what Ellison had done, he said: “The actions that are attributed to him pale in comparison to Mr. Hernandez, and what Mr. Hernandez was doing to promote himself. Mr. Hernandez was far more engaged with violent behavior and promoting violent behaviour than Mr. Ellison.”

During the trial, testimonies from the community through letters and by the family of Ellison was in such contradiction to the act that brought him to the courts and when given a chance to say a few words, he said: “I’m not an angel, but I’m not a monster, either,” he told Judge Engelmayer. 

Judge Engelmayer in response to that acknowledged he had taken note of the letters by the community of his good deeds and the love from his family  but “It is as if, like a modern Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, you were living two separate lives,” the judge said. “By day, you had gainful employment and were trying to give back to society. By night, you were running with Nine Trey and terrorizing and brutalizing antagonists, real or imagined.” 

The initial plea by the government was 360 months but Anthony Ellison ended up with a 288-month sentence, to be followed by a five years supervised release since he had already been in the harsh conditions coronavirus had incurred on the prison system during his incarceration for the duration of the trial. 

What are your thoughts? 

Mingle
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