A$AP Rocky
Assault Trial Underway in L.A.
Published
A$AP Rocky‘s felony assault trial got underway Friday morning … days after the Grammy-nominated rapper rejected a plea deal. He faces a potential 24-year prison sentence if he’s found guilty.
Rocky’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, is addressing the judge in the downtown L.A. courtroom.
A$AP Rocky — legal name Rakim Mayers — is accused of firing a gun at a former associate at a hotel in Hollywood in 2021. He was charged in 2022 with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
As we told you … Terell Ephron — AKA A$AP Relli, part of the A$AP Mob — claims Rocky threatened to kill him before the rapper allegedly pulled the trigger the night of the incident. Relli was treated at the time for a minor injury to his hand.
Tacopina says the weapon was a prop gun — a starter pistol — Rocky used for show.
In the plea deal Rocky rejected, prosecutors offered him 180 days in jail, a seven-year suspended sentence, and three years on probation, in exchange for a guilty plea to one of the charges.
TMZ.com
Tacopina told TMZ … aside from the proposed plea bargain being a career-ender for his client, “He is not taking ANY PLEA, because he has always maintained his innocence.”
Rocky pled not guilty to the charges in 2022 and was released on bond. Police had raided Rocky’s home in 2022 shortly after he got back from a trip to Barbados with his partner, Rihanna, the mother of his 2 sons.
Jurors were selected on Thursday — as part of the process, they were asked questions about Rihanna. Twelve jurors were seated — 7 men and 5 women — but not a single one is Black.
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