Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Asap Rocky was acquitted when shooting his former collaborator on Tuesday. The jury considered nearly three hours of cases because they had the potential to derail his career.
Rocky, 36, has real name Rakim Mayers, facing two felony charges that he attacked with a deadly weapon due to his one-time friend, Ty Terell Ephron has a dispute, known as ASAP Relli, in 2021 at ASAP Relli near the Hollywood Hotel.
“Thank you all for saving my life,” he told the jurors after the verdict.
The trial depends on jurors’ assessment of the gun used in the incident, which prosecutors say is a semi-automatic gun, and the witness of the proven defense lawyer was a prop gun obtained when filming a music video. There was no gun as evidence at the trial, and Loki did not stand in his defense.
Rocky faces trial when he has several famous projects. He plans to be one of the headlines at the Los Angeles site in March and was announced as one of the celebrity chairs for the Metropolitan Convention to be held in May. He also starred with Denzel Washington in a film directed by Spike Lee, which is scheduled to open in the summer.
Before the trial, Rocky rejected a six-month jail request and was sentenced to seven and three years of probation. If convicted on both counts, he faces up to 24 years in prison.
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John Lewin asked the jury not to be seen by Rocky’s long-time partner Rihanna. She appeared regularly during the 13-day trial and participated in the beginning of the ending argument with the two sons last week.
“They brought two adorable kids yesterday to end the debate,” Lewin said Friday. “They never came here again. You have to ask yourself why kids of that age would be here in situations like this.” ? ”
The three-week trial was the climax of a dispute between high school friends. Relli and Rocky used to belong to the same rap group, known as the ASAP (always working and thriving) mob, but their relationship grew bigger and bigger. Relli testified that they agreed to meet on the evening of November 6, 2021 to clear their differences.
Relli claims Rocky was born in Jamel Phillips and Asap Illz, and was born in Illijah Ulanger – in a parking lot near the W Hotel in Hollywood.
Relli describes a brief argument with Rocky before the parties separated. A few minutes later, the confrontation recovered and Rocky tried to hide behind Illz and pick up the gun from his belt. Rayley testified that Rocky fired a gun at him and grazed his right hand. Prosecutors showed surveillance video showing Loki holding a gun to support his claim before the shooting.
“The whole thing is like a movie, he kind of pointed, and he took the first shot,” Rayley testified.
But the defense insists that Rocky only intends to defend Illz from physical attacks by Relli, who exaggerates Rocky’s incidents and later supports him in seeking damage in a civil trial compensation.
Rocky’s attorney Joe Tacopina said videos that captured the dispute showed Relli being the invader. Tacopina called Relli a “perjury” after marking Relli’s injury as a “knuckle scratch” after closing Friday.
Relli spent several days testifying at the trial, including sitting in Tacopina for controversial cross-examination. When Tacopina showed his Instagram page in court, Relli was frustrated and said Relli was in death threats for his allegations.
At one time, Judge Mark S. Arnold asked the animation’s Relli to “relax” and suggested that he drink water.
“I was not on trial,” Rayley said. “I’ve been here for five days, dealing with this guy. I’ve been stupid for five days.”
Los Angeles Police Sergeant Thomas Zizzo (the son of the actor “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”), one of the first authorities to arrive at the scene after the incident, testified that it was difficult to determine whether the crime had already occurred .
Although police were unable to find evidence of the discharged weapons at the scene, Relli testified that he returned to the area later that night and retrieved two 9mm shell casings.
Twelvyy and another defense witness testified that Rocky opened a blank from the prop gun, which he started carrying on a few months ago based on the advice of a security consultant, and Relli knew it was fake. Prosecutors called the assertion absurd and challenged the testimony of defense witnesses. “They’re just liars, start to finish,” Lewin said.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec told the jury at the end that the only question they should consider was whether the gun was real or not. “The answer to this question I’ve asked a few times now is obvious,” he said.
Reilly also filed a lawsuit in civil court to compensate Rocky for damages suffered in the shooting and filed a libel lawsuit against Rocky and Tacopina.
