‘Paid off!’ A$AP Rocky Declared Not Guilty in Felony Assault Trial

OwelekeTV (Entertainment) — A Los Angeles jury has acquitted rapper A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, of felony assault charges related to a 2021 shooting incident in Hollywood.

Mayers was accused of firing a semi-automatic weapon at his former friend, Terell Ephron, during an altercation.

Prosecutors argued that he intentionally shot at Ephron, grazing his hand, while the defense maintained that Mayers had only been carrying a prop gun.

During the trial, Mayers’ attorney, Joe Tacopina, challenged Ephron’s credibility, pointing out inconsistencies in his testimony.

Tacopina, however, contended Rocky was defending himself after Ephron attacked him on the street. Just before trial, Tacopina admitted Rocky was the person caught on camera shooting at Ephron, but insisted the weapon was a “prop gun” Rocky took off the set of a music video he filmed with Rihanna.

Rocky would have faced up to 20 years in prison at sentencing, as prosecutors filed a sentencing enhancement for the use of a gun during the commission of a crime.

“This is one of the happiest days of my life,”

Tacopina said outside the courthouse Tuesday afternoon.

“We just have to leave, but listen, bottom line is we’re grateful for the jury.“

Evidence in the case initially appeared limited. Los Angeles police officers who responded to 911 calls on the night of the incident found no evidence of a shooting. Ephron reported the attack two days later and claimed to have recovered two shell casings at the scene. There are no forensics tying Rocky to the shooting and a weapon was never recovered.

Some late shuffling by the prosecution, including the last-minute addition of veteran prosecutor John Lewin to the trial team and an eleventh-hour plea offer that would have seen Rocky spend just six months in jail, left some questioning if the district attorney’s office had lost faith in its case. Tacopina and Rocky both scoffed at the plea deal last month and remained cocksure throughout the proceedings.

After three hours of deliberation, the jury ruled in Mayers’ favour, delivering a not-guilty verdict.

The decision spares Mayers from a potential prison sentence of over 24 years.

“Thank y’all for saving my life,”

he told the jurors as they left.

He was arrested in 2022 and had faced intense scrutiny throughout the case.

On the eve of trial, Rocky turned down a prosecution offer of just six months in jail, along with probation and other conditions, if he would plead guilty to one count.