New information has been released detailing the brutal attack on Casanova at the Essex County Jail on June 14. The assault occurred the same day the rapper explicitly renounced his association with the Untouchable Gorilla Stone gang. According to his lawyer, the statement put his life in grave danger.
Casanova was reportedly in a common area of the jail doing pushups when he was accosted by another inmate, who then jumped on him, stabbed him and taunted him for abandoning his gang affiliation.
The cuts on his head were inflicted from behind. As a result of the assault, Casanova sustained numerous injuries, requiring stitches on his head and hands. Most of the injuries on his hands were defensive wounds.
The violent incident underscores the potentially deadly consequences of Casanova’s decision to leave the gang, a circumstance his lawyer argues should be considered during his sentencing.
The rapper is currently facing charges for his alleged involvement in the notorious street gang, with a possible sentence of 15 to 60 years.
“His public renunciation of the gang has and will continue to pose a threat to his life which will make his future incarceration far more onerous than contemplated by our judicial system,” Casanova’s lawyer James Kousouros said.
In a stunning move, Casanova’s lawyer is using the testimony of a former associate of 6ix9ine to plead his case.
Roland “Ro Murda” Martin, a former enemy of Casanova and an ex-member of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, also renounced his gang membership while serving a nine-year sentence. He, too, was brutally attacked and stabbed multiple times. His experience parallels Casanova’s.
Martin’s repudiation of the gang and the subsequent attack on him made his time in prison “far worse than for any ordinary inmate, more painful, more alarming and more scary,” as noted by Judge Englemayer, who eventually granted Martin a below-guidelines sentence of 66 months.
Casanova’s lawyer said the assault reinforced the argument for a lighter sentence for his client, given the harsh and dangerous conditions they are forced to endure due to their past affiliations.
Casanova’s lawyer also asserted the government’s characterization of Casanova’s involvement in the gang is exaggerated.
“[Casanova] began his distancing from the gang years ago, as we have detailed in our initial submission, as he publicly advocated against gang membership relating in detail the destruction of the gang life from his own personal experiences,” Kousouros explained.
Casanova’s sentencing is scheduled for June 27.