A$AP Rocky trial kicks off after rapper pleaded not guilty to firing gun at ex-friend
A$AP Rocky trial kicks off after rapper pleaded not guilty to firing gun at ex-friend
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Prosecutors had offered seven-year sentence, three years probation and 180 days in jail in exchange for guilty plea. The trial for the star rapper A$AP Rocky, who is accused of firing a gun at a former friend in a November 2021 incident, kicked off in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Friday.
The proceedings come a year after the rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. On Tuesday A$AP Rocky, 36, declined a plea offer from prosecutors who recommended a seven-year suspended sentence, three years of probation and 180 days in jail in exchange for a guilty plea.
If convicted, the artist could face up to 24 years in prison. This trial is the culmination of a three-year legal saga that stems from an alleged altercation between A$AP Rocky and Terell Ephron. Ephron, who says he and A$AP Rocky are childhood friends, has accused A$AP Rocky of pulling a gun on him during a standoff in Hollywood on 6 November 2021. He alleges A$AP Rocky fired shots that grazed his knuckles in a later confrontation.
A$AP Rocky has maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings. His attorney, Joe Tacopina, said in court on Tuesday that the defense plans to call witnesses to testify that a firearm seen on a security video is a “starter pistol” that the artist carried as a prop for security purposes. The strategy had not been aired at pre-trial hearings.
