A$AP Rocky Found Not Guilty In Gun Assault Trial

American rapper Rakim Mayers, best known as A$AP Rocky, has been found not guilty of shooting a former friend and collaborator, Terell Ephron, better known as A$AP Relli, following an alleged incident in Hollywood in 2021. With the acquittal, the rapper has been spared a potential two-decade-long prison sentence.

The Guardian reports that he was acquitted by a jury on Tuesday (18 February). He was initially charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon.

Rocky reportedly expressed gratitude to the jurors for acquitting him. After the verdict, he was reported to have said, “Thank you for saving my life,” and embraced his longtime partner, Rihanna, in the gallery.

Rihanna occasionally attended Rocky’s court hearings, along with the couple’s two children – 2-year-old RZA Athelston Mayers and 1-year-old Riot Rose Mayers.

The trial lasted three weeks, with the jury deliberating for just three hours to proclaim Rocky not guilty.

The Associated Press reports that on the eve of the trial, Rocky declined the prosecution’s offer of six months’ jail time, probation, and other conditions if he pled guilty to just one felony count.

Rocky’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, stated in closing arguments that Relli was an “angry pathological liar” who allegedly “committed perjury” on multiple occasions.

During the trial, A$AP Rocky’s lawyers and witnesses claimed that the rapper was in possession of a “prop gun” that only fired blanks, which he carried for security after taking it home from a music video set. Rocky’s lawyers said he fired the gun as a “warning” after Relli allegedly attacked another member of their crew.

In other A$AP Rocky news, the rapper is set to headline Rolling Loud Festival – the “largest hip-hop festival in the world” – along with Playboi Carti in California this March.

He’s set to release his fourth album, Don’t Be Dumb, later this year. So far, he’s released the singles Highjack featuring Jessica Pratt, Tailor Swif, and Ruby Rosary featuring J. Cole. The album’s release was delayed last year, with Rocky citing clearances and leaks as reasons for the holdups.