At the conclusion of a trial in Los Angeles on Tuesday, rapper A $AP Rocky was found not guilty of two counts of felony assault.
If the musician had been found guilty of the alleged attack on a former friend in Hollywood in 2021, he would have faced more than 20 years in prison. He has two children with singer Rihanna.
The Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist, known as Rakim Mayers, embraced supporters as the jury’s verdict was read out, and there was commotion in the courtroom as he was sentenced to a not-guilty sentence.
During the weeks-long trial, prosecutors said Mayers had shot a nine-millimeter semi-automatic weapon during a confrontation with Terell Ephron, also known as A $AP Relli, on November 6, 2021, in the heart of Hollywood, grazing Ephron’s hand.
Mayers, 36, had insisted he had been carrying only a harmless prop gun.
Although the two had previously been friends, and both were members of A $AP, a New York-based rap collective, fell out because other group members thought Mayers’ commercial success had haughty status.
Ephron claimed to have been duped into a parking garage after being partially caught on gimmick-free surveillance video.
He claimed that after the two exchanged words, Mayers pulled a gun from his waistband, put it toward Relli’s stomach and said, “I’ll kill you right now”.
Ephron said two bullets were fired, with one of them grazing his knuckles.
The weapon, according to Defendant’s attorney Joe Tacopina, was “absolutely nothing more than a starter gun, a blank gun, a fake gun.” It’s used in pop movies and music videos”.
Seven police officers searched the scene of the shooting hours later, but they found neither shell casings nor a weapon, Tacopina said, describing Ephron as “a criminal and a perjurer.”
Ephron returned to the scene and discovered two nine-millimeter shell casings he claimed he had taken from the street where he was shot, according to Tacopina.
The gun that the opposing side claimed was used on the night was not produced by either side.
‘Extortion’
Tacopina claimed that the entire shooting’s story was made up to extort money from his wealthy and successful client.
Tacopina addressed reporters after the verdict, explaining how the jury had seen the case through.
“I’ve always said this was an extortion. The extortion played out live in court”, he said.
The district attorney should consider prosecuting Terell Ephron for a while.
Tacopina paid tribute to Mayers and Rihanna, whom he described as “the greatest people”.
Both Rihanna and Mayers, who had appeared in court frequently throughout the trial, did not respond immediately.
A $AP Rocky shot to fame in the first half of the last decade with two mega-selling albums: “Long. Live. A $AP” and “At. Long. Last. A $AP”.
Source: Channels TV
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