A$AP Rocky‘s lawyers have said he fired “two warning shots” from a starter pistol to break up an alleged fight.
On Friday (January 24), the rapper – real name Rakim Mayers – appeared in court as part of his ongoing firearm assault trial, where he is accused of two counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon.
Prosecutors told jurors that, three years ago, Mayers had fired multiple shots from a 9mm semiautomatic pistol during a fight with former friend A$AP Relli – real name Terell Ephron – in Hollywood.
Mayers’ lawyer Joseph Tacopina has denied the allegation, calling it a lie orchestrated for cash, per Rolling Stone.
Tacopina said that Mayers admits to pulling the trigger on a firearm he was carrying that night, and that the rapper fired “two warning shots” from his “starter gun” to break up an alleged fight between Relli and A$AP Illz (real name Illijah Ulanger) – another member of their A$AP Mob collective.
He added that the gun used that night was a “prop gun” from a music video he had filmed months earlier with Rihanna, described in the trial as his “life partner” and the mother of his two young sons.
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky in New York City. Photo credit: Jackson Lee/GC Images
“Rocky fired that prop gun,” Tacopina continued. “He fired twice, hoping the sound would be enough to scare off Relli and protect Illz.”
He went on to say that those in Mayers’ inner circle are aware he carried a “fake gun” to “scare off attackers” after previously experiencing violence and stalking.
“This case about one mans’ lies, jealousy and greed,” Tacopina said, referring to Relli as the “source of all the evidence” in the case. “Ladies and gentleman, this case is all about money. The evidence will show it’s nothing more than a money grab,” he continued.
“The evidence will make clear Relli is trying to leverage a fabricated story to extract money.”
Earlier this week, Mayers rejected his final prosecution plea offer of 180 days in jail and now faces the possibility of a guilty verdict.
As the Associated Press reported, the plea deal was given to the rapper if he were to plead guilty to one of his two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
The decision to make Rocky stand trial for allegedly firing a gun at his former friend and collaborator, Terell Ephron, was made in 2023.
A$AP Rocky. Credit – Adrian Dennis
Prosecutors in that trial said Rocky pointed and fired a handgun at Ephron on the street near the W Hotel Hollywood in November 2021, after being “lured” there to discuss a disagreement.
Ephron also alleges separately that he is the victim of assault and battery, negligence and emotional distress, according to BBC.
Court records show that Mayers denied all wrongdoing in his response to the complaint, per ABC News.
During the state’s opening statement, prosecutors exhibited some of their own evidence for the first time, including a 911 call where a woman said she witnessed the “shooting”. They also showed a photo of a loaded 9mm gun magazine allegedly recovered from Mayer’s home during a search.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec went on to highlight video evidence presented during a probable cause hearing in November 2023 which, alongside the 911 call, attempted to connect Mayers to the alleged shooting through the caller’s physical description.
A$AP Rocky. Credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
“There’s been a shooting,” the female caller could be heard saying in the audio played in court. “We watched it. … The guy in the black sweatshirt pulled out a gun.” Przelomiec said the woman later declined to speak with police.
Przelomiec added that the aforementioned magazine seized was found in a box in Mayers’ bedroom closet during a search on April 20 2022. He said the magazine was loaded with six 9mm Luger bullets but that there was no semiautomatic handgun “to go with it.” He said the expended casings allegedly recovered from the scene by Ephron were 9mm casings.
Tacopina then said that seven police officers responded to the scene of the alleged shooting and never found any casings and that a surveillance video of Ephron at the scene showed him searching the same area police previously covered with their flashlights.
The lawyer added that the brand of bullets in the magazine at Mayers’ house did not match the casings handed over by Ephron. He said a witness later in the trial is expected to further testify that the magazine belonged to someone other than Mayers.
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