Former Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods Member Ro Murda, Ex-Tekashi 6ix9ine Affiliate, Almost Lost His Life Renouncing Gang
Everything you need to know about this ex-gangster.
Instagram People around rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine are dropping like flies, albeit not literally (small favor, considering this could have gone a lot worse than it's gone already). We've already discussed Mel Murda, and a few of the other rapper-turned-informant's associates but now, we have to ask: who is Ro Murda, and what's his role in the Tekashi 6ix9ine courtroom drama?
The Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods are a subset of a subset of the Bloods gang, based on the West Coast. The Nine Trey's, better known as the Bentleys and the Billionaires, are based on the East Coast and they got their start in the Rikers Island jail in Manhattan, NY. First coming to prominence in the 1990s, the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods were known for using homeless people, prostitutes, and even children in their drug deals, though their later crimes included racketeering, human trafficking, and of course the old standby, murder.
Let's look at what we know about Ro Murda.
1. His real name is Roland Martin.
HipHopDX reports that Ro Murda, better known as Roland Martin, was one of the first members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods to "turncoat" the gang. The outlet reports that he cooperated with prosecutors to get a lighter sentence than his compatriots.
2. Ro Murda renounced the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods.
It's a risky thing to renounce a gang — blood in, blood out, as the old saying goes — but according to The New York Daily News, that's exactly what Ro Murda did. According to the outlet, while he was in prison awaiting trial, he confessed to other inmates that he was "done" with the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods. That renunciation may be noble, but he paid a heavy price for that denouncement by his own admission. “I left that life behind me. I publicly resigned from Nine Trey and nearly paid my life for it,” he said.
3. He was nearly stabbed to death for renouncing the gang.
"Defense Attorney Maxwell Bryer told the court his client was brutally attacked during his time in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center after “publicly” announcing he was leaving the gang in the presence of other members. Martin suffered two collapsed lungs, a lacerated liver and a wrist wound during the May 30 attack — and then almost died during transport to the hospital because someone forgot to bring an oxygen tank,” read a horrifying report for The New York Post.
4. Ro Murda received a lighter sentence thanks to the stabbing.
According to Complex Magazine, Ro Murda was originally going to get the maximum sentence for his role in an April 2018 robbery, but when the judge realized how badly he'd been injured in jail for renouncing the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, he reduced Ro Murda's sentence to only 66 months.
5. He first came around Tekashi 6ix9ine after he got out of jail in early 2018.
AllHipHop reports that Ro Murda first started hanging around Tekashi 6ix9ine after he got out of prison after a nine-year stint in early 2018. The outlet reports that Ro Murda was one of several Nine Trey Gangsta Blood members that were so affiliated, and the crux of their RICO case hinged on the notion that the gang members were committing crimes on Tekashi 6ix9ine's behalf.
6. Are Ro Murda and Tekashi 6ix9ine going to end up in the same jail?
Another report for AllHipHop suggests that there's a chance that Tekashi 6ix9ine will end up in the same jail as Ro Murda and Mel Murda. The outlet reports that Tekashi, who is scheduled to be sentenced in December, may end up at one of the same Federal prisons as the gang members he testified against will be housed in. Judge Englemayer, who said that Mel Murda could still "give orders" on behalf of the gang while locked up, said that they all could end up at either FCI Fort Dix, FCI Otisville, or FCI Fairton. This could create a life-threatening situation, to be sure.
Ultimately, where everyone is housed depends on the order of the Federal bureau of prisons.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.