Tekashi 6ix9ine’s bodyguards allegedly chased down a fan who tried to shoot cell phone video of the rapper in New York, pursuing him for 20 blocks with SUVs before breaking his phone and pointing a Taser at him.
The office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr announced indictments on Monday against five members of the rap star’s personal security detail, including a retired NYPD detective.
The bodyguards allegedly pursued the fan using SUVs that were outfitted with emergency lights and sirens.
The former detective, Daniel Laperuta, has also been charged with falsely claiming to police that the fan threatened the bodyguards with a weapon.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office on Monday announced indictments against five bodyguards employed by rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine (pictured above in February)
Tekashi 6ix9ine’s bodyguards allegedly chased down a fan who tried to shoot cell phone video of the rapper in New York last year, pursuing him for 20 blocks with SUVs before breaking his phone and pointing a Taser at him. The image above shows Tekashi6ix9ine with bodyguards in Philadelphia in September 2018. The individuals photographed above are not linked to this story
'A celebrity entourage is not a police department, and Manhattan is not the Wild West,' said Vance.
'As alleged, these highly-compensated vigilantes caravanned through the streets of Harlem with sirens flashing in order to track a man down and steal and break his phone.
'Along the way, a retired NYPD Detective tried to cover up their conduct by lying to his former colleagues and repeatedly claiming the victim had threatened to shoot them.
'False reports – especially about firearms – can carry devastating consequences and fortunately, no one was injured or killed in the actual police response.'
Manhattan prosecutors say that on August 9 of last year, a 34-year-old man and his girlfriend spotted Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose legal name is Daniel Hernandez, while driving in Harlem.
Tekashi 6ix9ine pled guilty in Feb 2019 to conspiracy to commit murder and armed robbery. The crimes took place during the time he spent as a member of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods
The rapper, whose legal name is Daniel Hernandez, is seen above in a New York court in October 2018. He testified against his fellow Nine Trey gang members in order to get a reduced sentence
The 26-year-old rapper was released early from prison in April 2020 and remained under house arrest for the last four months of his two-year sentence
The rapper, who in 2019 was sentenced to two years in prison for taking part in a drive-by shooting as a member of a gang, was surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguards.
When the bodyguards saw the man trying to record video of the rap star, they ‘shouted at him and began to chase him as he drove away,’ according to the Manhattan DA’s Office.
The bodyguards who were in three different SUVs pursued the man for some 20 blocks. The SUVs were equipped with emergency flashing lights and sirens normally seen on police vehicles and ambulances.
The fan who was chased then saw a marked police car and motioned for the officer to help, but Laperuta, who is retired from the NYPD, allegedly flashed an official department Member of Service card.
Laperuta is then alleged to have told the officers that the fan had threatened him and other members of Tekashi 6ix9ine’s security detail with a gun.
According to Vance’s office, the bodyguards ‘boxed in’ the fan’s car at the corner of 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard, forcing him to pull the car over.
Another bodyguard, Sammy Sprouse, is alleged to have approached the fan’s car, opened the driver’s side, door, unbuckled the seat belt, and pulled his arm, knocking the phone out of his hand.
Kristian Fuhse, another member of the security detail, is alleged to have then stomped on the phone.
The fan quickly got out of his car and tried to retrieve his phone. He
