A$AP Rocky has rejected his final prosecution plea offer of 180 days in jail and now faces a possibility of a guilty verdict as his firearm assault trial starts in Los Angeles.
As the Associated Press reports, the rapper – real name Rakim Mayers – the plea deal was given to the rapper if he were to plead guilty to one of his two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
The outlet reports that Los Angeles County prosecutors would also recommend a seven-year suspended sentence, three years of probation and a six-month jail term. However, A$AP Rocky denied the plea when his trial began this week.
The 36-year-old rapper is accused of firing a gun at a former friend near a Hollywood hotel in 2021, and could get given up to 24 years in prison if he is found guilty and convicted.
More than 100 prospective jurors were summoned to the downtown Los Angeles courtroom today (January 21), and the opening statements will come once 12 of them are seated – which according to AP is most likely to be Wednesday (January 22) or later. Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold confirmed he plans to seat a jury as quickly as possible.
“Mr. Mayers is an entertainer. His stage name is A$AP Rocky. His life partner is also an entertainer. Her name is Rihanna,” Arnold told the prospective jurors. “Because Mr. Mayers is an entertainer, a celebrity, that cannot harm him, and it cannot benefit him.”
Rocky’s attorney Joe Tacopina said the defense plans to call witnesses to testify that a firearm seen on a security video is a “starter pistol” which the rapper carries around as a prop, however, this was not said at pretrial hearings.
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky in New York City. Photo credit: Jackson Lee/GC Images
The decision to make A$AP Rocky stand trial for allegedly firing a gun at his former friend and collaborator, Terell Ephron, was made in 2023.
Prosecutors in that trial said Rocky pointed and fired a handgun at Ephron on the street near the W Hotel Hollywood in November 2021, after being “lured” there to discuss a disagreement.
Ephron, who was part of A$AP Mob under the stage name A$AP Relli alongside A$AP Rocky, also alleges separately that he is the victim of assault and battery, negligence and emotional distress, according to BBC.
In the preliminary hearing, the rapper pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
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