3 arrested, accused of robbing and beating rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies on Thursday announced the arrest of three men suspected of attacking rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine last week in a South Florida gym.

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Rafael Medina Jr., 43; Octavious Medina, 23; and Anthony Maldonado, 25; were booked into jail Thursday on charges of robbery and battery, jail records show. They remained jailed Friday afternoon.

Deputies last week said Tekashi 6ix9ine, whose legal name is Daniel Hernandez, was attacked at a LA Fitness in Lake Worth. He was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening.

“He had cuts to his face and bruises,” the rapper’s attorney, Lance Lazzaro, said in a statement obtained by CNN. “Employees heard the disturbance and the perpetrators fled.”

Tekashi 6ix9ine told deputies that the attackers stole his Balenciaga shoes, the key fob to his Lamborghini and an iPhone, according to The Palm Beach Post. The newspaper reported that surveillance video from the gym showed Maldanado, who was a member of the gym, brought Octavious Medina into the business as a guest. The younger Medina then let his father, Rafael Medina, into the gym, the Post reported.

Investigators said Rafael Medina is a high-ranking member of the Latin Kings gang, according to an arrest report obtained by the Post.

It was not immediately clear whether the March 21 beating was related to the rapper’s earlier criminal case.

In 2018, Tekashi 6ix9ine faced the possibility of decades in prison as part of a racketeering case, but he saw his sentence reduced to about two years after he testified against the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, The Associated Press reported. The decision led fans, critics and other rappers to label him as a “snitch.”

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