(AllHipHop News) A man accused of abducting rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine is asking a judge for an acquittal and a new trial.
In a new filing, Anthony Ellison claims he was simply an employee for 6ix9ine, first as security and later as a bodyguard for the rapper.
Ellison said he earned about $25,000 for his role as bodyguard/road manager and he’s arguing no credible proof was presented during his trial to establish a connection to the criminal activity of Tekashi 6ix9ine, Kifano “Shotti” Jordan, Jamel “Mel Murda” Jones and other top leaders of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods.
Ellison said he was simply “acting” in the photos and videos the Feds presented as evidence showing him throwing up gang signs alongside Tekashi 6ix9ine, born Daniel Hernandez.
During his three days on the stand, Tekashi 6ix9ine claimed Ellison pistol-whipped and abducted him at gunpoint as his driver Jorge Rivera watched helplessly, during an internal war between the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods.
Ellison was eventually found guilty of maiming and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, but he was acquitted of assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering.
His lawyer described the verdicts as “utterly incompatible with one another.”
“The jury rejected the accounts of Hernandez and Jorge Rivera wherein they described Mr. Ellison using a weapon to effectuate an alleged kidnapping,” said Anthony “Harv” Ellison’s lawyer Deveraux L. Cannick. “However, they found Mr. Ellison guilty of kidnapping Hernandez. The jury verdict on each count was not just odd, but utterly incompatible with one another, such that a jury following the Court’s instruction could not have produced it. The verdicts rendered by the jury were simply inconsistent with one another.”
“Clearly, the jury did not entirely give credit to the testimony of Hernandez and Rivera. Hernandez clearly testified that he had been assaulted with a gun during the alleged kidnapping,” Cannick continued. “Rivera claimed to have observed multiple guns during the alleged seizure of Hernandez. A lack of credible evidence led to an inconsistent verdict. The defense submits that letting the guilty verdict stand would be a manifest Injustice.”
Anthony “Harv” Ellison and his lawyer are asking Paul A. Engelmayer for the entry of a judgment of acquittal on all counts and another trial.