Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Felicia Mennin feels her decision to sentence Tekashi69 to probation instead of prison may have been a mistake, but it's not on her shoulders.
Tekashi violated the terms of his plea deal in his child sex case twice by getting arrested for alleged assaults in Houston and Brooklyn, so he could have been sent to prison for years, but the judge didn't give him a single day.
Fact is ... prosecutors wanted to send the rapper to prison for 1 to 3 years – but Judge Mennin favored 4 years probation and even downplaying Tekashi’s arrest in Houston -- which she said may have involved "push back against an amateur paparazzi."
Judge Mennin has now pushed the blame to the presiding judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys for cutting the original plea deal.
Mennin's spokesperson, Lucian Chalfen, tells TMZ…"Although Judge Mennin was the sentencing judge, the long-standing plea agreement was agreed to by the presiding judge at the time, and the other parties involved."
As we reported, hours after the sentence, a member of Tekashi's crew got shot after a melee at an NYC restaurant.
Last week, Tekashi and his crew got into a nasty confrontation with Slim 400 and his posse in LA. ... the rapper had to be held back.
And just last Friday, 8 shots were fired during a Tekashi/Kanye/Nicki Minaj video shoot at a Beverly Hills mansion.