A$AP Rocky found not guilty in felony shooting trial

A$AP Rocky, the hip-hop star who was charged with firing a gun at a former friend during a confrontation in Hollywood in 2021, has been found not guilty in a felony trial assault trial.

A Los Angeles jury reached a unanimous decision after three hours of deliberation Tuesday, following a three-week trial that concluded with closing arguments on Friday.

The Grammy-nominated rapper, fashion entrepreneur, and longtime partner to Rihanna, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, was arrested following a confrontation with Terrell “A$AP Relli” Ephron on Nov. 6, 2021. Rocky, 36, allegedly shot a handgun twice in Relli’s direction, and was charged with two felony counts of counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm on Aug. 15, 2022.

Rocky pleaded not guilty to the charges and faced up to 24 years in prison if convicted, though prosecutors sought an eight-year sentence.

When the verdict was read in court, cheers erupted from Rocky’s supporters in the audience, some of whom he rushed over to and embraced. He subsequently put his arms around his attorneys.

Both Rocky and Relli were members of the New York-based hip-hop collective A$AP Mob, which also includes “Dreams, Fairytales, Fantasies” rapper A$AP Ferg and “FE!N” rapper Playboi Carti.

Testifying at the trial in January, Relli claimed that he and Rocky were like brothers “until he got famous.” After Relli overheard Rocky insult him to mutual friends over speakerphone, he said, the two agreed to meet. “I had kind of an idea he wanted to fight or something,” Relli said.

Relli testified that after a heated verbal altercation, Rocky drew a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at his head and stomach. Prosecutors alleged that Rocky fired two shots, one of which grazed Relli’s knuckles. The defense argued that Relli initiated the altercation and Rocky’s behavior was in self-defense, adding that the rapper’s pistol was taken from a music video set and only fired blanks.

Though serving as a centerpiece of arguments on both sides, the gun was never recovered by authorities.

Rocky’s trial was highly publicized, in no small part thanks to Rihanna’s frequent attendance. The pop superstar brought their sons — RZA, 2, and Riot, 1 — to closing arguments.

This is Rocky’s second high-profile trial in recent years. The rapper was arrested in Sweden and charged with assaulting a 19-year-old man in 2019. He was freed from Swedish jail to await the verdict at home — a decision advocated for by then-President Donald Trump — and eventually found guilty, but did not serve any additional time.

In the Los Angeles trial, Rocky turned down a plea deal that would have included a 180-day stint in jail.

Joe Tacopina, his lead attorney, said at the time, “Yes, he was offered a plea deal but is not interested because he is actually innocent.”