Raphy Pina Turns Himself In for Prison Sentencing
Update: Raphy Pina has surrendered himself to the custody of U.S. Marshalls. Before doing so, he said his goodbye on his social media, including posting an Instagram story: “The justice system wants to make me a criminal.” In the following text, he wrote: “I will prove them wrong once again!” He then wrapped it up with a photo of him and his 1-year-old daughter.
Pina reportedly surrendered himself at 2:50 p.m. at Hato Rey in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He arrived accompanied by his fiancé, Natti Natasha, and his three eldest children. He will serve his sentence in a Florida federal prison.
After being found guilty on two charges of illegal possession of firearms, Raphy Pina has been sentenced to three years in prison. The popular music businessman has until 3 p.m. ET today (May 24) to voluntarily surrender himself into the custody of U.S. Marshalls.
According to Billboard, Pina’s official sentence is a total of 41 months – that’s three years and five months – in prison without bail. Additionally, Puerto Rican federal Judge Francisco A. Besosa ordered a $150,000 penalty fee for his illegal possessions. It was also reported that after his prison time, he will remain under supervision for an additional three years.
For those wondering what the cause of this was, the music executive – commonly known as Daddy Yankee and his fiance Natti Natasha’s manager – was initially facing up to 20 years of prison due to “one count of possessing an automatic weapon and one count of possessing firearms by a person convicted of a felony.” The possessions included: “[a] Glock pistol, Model 19, 9mm caliber, which was modified to automatic, one Smith & Wesson, Model SD40, .40 caliber, and 526 total rounds of live ammunition for handguns, rifles, and shotguns.”
In the initial trial, Billboard reported that the Federal prosecutors wanted more prison time for the music producer. They cited the possible “carnage” that the possession of the two illegal firearms could’ve incited and stated that automatic Glock pistols were “uniquely dangerous to the public.” They also reportedly referenced Pina’s previous 2016 conviction of federal fraud and money laundering charges.
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Pina is known as the CEO of his record label Pina Records, founded in 1996. His label has been part of the music careers of some of reggaeton’s prominent artists, including Natti Natasha, Daddy Yankee, Nicky Jam, Zion & Lennox, Don Omar, and Arcángel.
