Hip-hop star A$AP Rocky is found not guilty of firing a handgun

SOURCE: BBC NEWS

Rapper A$AP Rocky has been found not guilty of firing a gun at a former friend.

A jury in Los Angeles acquitted the musician, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, on two felony assault charges that carried up to 24 years in prison.

Terell Ephron claimed the Grammy-nominated hip-hop star opened fire at him during an argument on a Hollywood street on 6 November 2021, grazing his knuckles with one of the shots.

Mr Mayers, who is also a fashion mogul and the longtime partner of pop star Rihanna, denied the charges, arguing that the weapon was a prop gun and that his former friend, who calls himself A$AP Relli, was only after money.

As the first not-guilty verdict was read on Tuesday, the court rang with screams and clapping. Mr Mayers rushed towards his family and Rihanna, who were seated behind him. He dived over a wooden barrier to embrace them.

Rihanna had been a repeated presence in court during the trial, and for Tuesday’s verdict, brought along their two sons, two-year-old RZA and one-year-old Riot.

Mr Mayers also hugged his lawyers and appeared to have tears in his eyes as the second not-guilty verdict was read.

“Thank God for saving my life,” Mr Mayers said aloud. He thanked members of the 12-person jury.

The rapper was arrested on the two felony assault charges after a heated argument with his former friend in the heart of Hollywood.

Mr Mayers and Mr Ephron have known each other since high school in New York and were part of the A$AP Mob hip-hop collective.

Their friendship cooled as A$AP Rocky’s career took off.

Authorities said Mr. Ephron met Mr. Mayers on 6 November 2021, a day after the pair had a disagreement, outside a hotel about a block from the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

An altercation ensued.

Mr Mayers was alleged to have pulled out a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Mr Ephron, telling him: “I’ll kill you right now.”

“He looked me in my eyes and pointed the gun at me,” Mr Ephron testified.

Mr Ephron said he told the rapper to fire the weapon, but Mr Mayers started walking away. As he left, Mr Ephron followed, shouting at him.

Prosecutors alleged that at this point, Mr Mayers once again pulled out the gun and fired multiple shots, with one bullet said to have grazed Mr Ephron’s knuckles.

Much of the trial hinged on whether the firearm in question was a harmless prop gun, as Mr Mayers’s defence said, or a real weapon capable of causing harm, as Mr Ephron and prosecutors alleged.

The weapon has not been recovered by authorities.

Jurors were able to watch some footage of the altercation because parts were captured on surveillance video, including audio of gunfire, but no video evidence directly showed any shooting.

Mr Ephron took two days before reporting the incident to authorities and brought shell casings he said he had retrieved from the scene.

But police who responded to reports of a shooting in the area did not locate any shell casings. Mr Ephron, who said he returned with his girlfriend hours later, said he knew exactly where to look, but no surveillance footage corroborates his account.

He was not admitted to hospital in Los Angeles and instead went for medical treatment after flying back to New York.

Lawyers for Mr Mayers suggested that Mr Ephron had planted the shell casings to frame the rapper.

The trial was marked by emotional and combative exchanges, particularly when Mr Ephron – the trial’s star witness – took the stand.

At one point, Mr Ephron called Mr Tacopina – a defence attorney for Mr Mayers – “annoying”, which led to a reprimand from the judge.

Another witness, A$AP Twelvyy, was asked by prosecutors about a photograph showing Mr. Mayers’s bed with the letters “AWGE” emblazoned on the furniture.

When asked what that stood for, Mr. Mayers unexpectedly interrupted the proceedings and yelled, “Don’t say!” Twelvyy ultimately refused to elaborate.

Outbursts from defendants during trials are uncommon, especially in front of a jury.

However, for a criminal suspect on trial to interject and instruct a witness not to answer a prosecutor’s question during cross-examination is something nearly unheard of in a court.

The rapper is set to release his first solo album in nearly a decade and is scheduled to co-headline Los Angeles’ Rolling Loud festival in March 2025.

Additionally, he stars alongside Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s upcoming film Highest 2 Lowest, due to be released in the coming months.