LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury's acquittal of A$AP Rocky on Tuesday put to rest a case that has hung over the hip-hop star for years and threatened to derail his life and career.
Rocky was charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, filed after a November 2021 incident in which a former friend said the rapper shot at him in Hollywood, grazing his knuckles.
Rocky had been free on bail since his 2022 arrest, but he faced immediate incarceration if he had been convicted. Rocky pleaded not guilty, rejected a plea deal that would have involved very little jail time and opted not to testify during the case.
He appeared nervous ahead of the verdict and leaped into the arms of Rihanna, his longtime partner, once it was clear the jury acquitted him.
“Thank y’all for saving my life,” he told the panel as they left.
Here's some key elements of the case and how it played out:
What jurors decided
Ultimately, it took the jury of seven women and five men roughly three hours to decide the case, finding Rocky not guilty of the two felonies.
They could decide Rocky was not guilty because he only fired blanks from a prop gun taken from a music video set, as the defense argued, or that he acted in self-defense.
Or they could simply decide the prosecution didn't prove its case, and there was too much reasonable doubt to convict.
Key evidence and testimony
A$AP Relli’s testimony made up the bulk of the prosecution’s case. One surveillance camera recorded the sound of the shots being fired. Another partially captured a scuffle shortly before the shooting. Yet another video showed the incident itself, though the frame within view was small, blurry and far from definitive.
Jurors also considered text messages to Rocky and others that Relli sent before and after the incident. Relli has also filed a lawsuit, and said in the communications that he had a greater desire to be paid than to see Rocky prosecuted.
Rocky’s lawyer Joe Tacopina called him “an angry pathological liar” who “committed perjury again and again and again and again.”
Defense witnesses included two members of Rocky’s inner circle who testified that he carried the prop gun.
The penalty Rocky faced if convicted
If convicted of both charges, Rocky faced up to 24 years in prison. A conviction would have likely had immediate consequences, especially if he was taken into immediate custody.
In addition to his life with Rihanna and their two young children, Rocky has a packed public schedule the next few months.
What’s next for A$AP Rocky after his acquittal
It’s a major year for Rocky, with three big events on the horizon.
In March, he’ll headline the Rolling Loud music festival in Los Angeles.
In May, he’ll be at the Met Gala, the biggest fashion carpet of the year, as a celebrity co-chair along with LeBron James and Pharrell Williams.
And this summer, he’ll add major motion picture actor to his resume as the co-star — with Denzel Washington — in director Spike Lee’s film “Highest 2 Lowest.”
Rihanna’s role in the case
Before the trial started, whether Rihanna would appear was one of the biggest unanswered questions. Even the judge asked Tacopina if she’d show: “She’s welcome to be here whenever she wants I’d just like to know.”
Tacopina said it was unlikely, but as the case progressed, Rihanna became a frequent observer in the courtroom. Her early appearances were surreptitious, but eventually she started entering and exiting the courthouse via public entrances, where photographers and fans waited.
She surprised everyone during closing arguments last week by bringing the couple’s sons, 2-year-old RZA Athelston Mayers and 1-year-old Riot Rose Mayers, to the proceedings.
She watched the verdict and received a jubilant Rocky in her arms when he leaped into the audience after his acquittal. They made their way past a mob of photographers into an SUV together as they headed off to celebrate.
A$AP Rocky and A$AP Relli
The trial had its roots in high school in New York, when the Harlem-raised Rakim Mayers, now known as A$AP Rocky, met Terell Ephron, known as A$AP Relli, who was the trial’s most important witness.
Ephron testified that he brought Rocky into a crew of young creators who called themselves A$AP — for “Always Strive and Prosper.”
A feud developed after Rocky achieved widespread fame, and came to a head in Hollywood on the night of Nov. 6, 2021, when Ephron said Rocky fired at him three or four times, the shots grazing his knuckles.
Ephron went to the police two days later, and brought shell casings he had picked up himself. Rocky’s lawyers seized on recordings of a man who sounded like Relli saying he would stop participating in the criminal case when he was paid in a lawsuit; Relli said the recording was fake.
Other key players in the trial
Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold, a former sheriff’s deputy, has an affable but no-nonsense style and dispenses with many court formalities. In an uncommon move in LA County courts, he allowed cameras in court for nearly the entire trial.
“I believe that the public deserves to see what goes on in the courtroom,” he said before the trial.
Tacopina has also represented other hip-hop figures, including Meek Mill and YG. The lawyer who normally practices in New York is gregarious, quick with a joke and always happy to talk to the media, but can be ruthless in cross-examination.
Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, best known for his successful murder prosecution of real estate scion Robert Durst, was a late addition to the prosecution team. He’s also known for his aggressive cross-examination, including a relentless, weekslong questioning of Durst.
Arnold had to play police officer often between Lewin and Tacopina, whose sparring got vicious and personal at times. The judge was reduced to yelling “knock it off” more than once and threatened money penalties.
But in the end he tipped his hat to the lawyers.
“I think it’s very obvious that everybody at that table left it all out there,” he said. “They gave 150%.”
The Associated Press
