A$AP Rocky has been found not guilty in the rapper’s trial for his role in a shooting incident in 2021.
After a nearly month-long trial in Los Angeles, A$AP Rocky was found innocent on all counts by an LA jury after being charged for allegedly firing a gun at his former friend A$AP Relli in the Hollywood area in 2021.
Rocky faced 24 years in prison after the rapper turned down a plea deal for 180 days in jail.
According to a report from the LA Times, a loud roar erupted in the courtroom when the court clerk read out the jury’s verdict of not guilty. Among the first people to celebrate the verdict was Rocky’s partner Rihanna, who he rushed to for a hug. The LA Times reports that A$AP Rocky thanked the jury for “saving my life” following the verdict, and added that they “made the right decision”.
ASAP ROCKY HAS BEEN FOUND NOT GUILTY pic.twitter.com/XZrK17l4bB
— ATP (@ATP_RAP) February 19, 2025
The trial began on January 24, with prosecutors arguing over evidence that Rocky – real name Rakim Mayers – pointed the gun at Relli – real name Terell Ephron – and fired, grazing Ephron’s knuckles.
During the trial, prosecutors told jurors that Mayers had fired multiple shots from a 9mm semiautomatic pistol during a fight with former friend A$AP Relli – real name Terell Ephron – in Hollywood.
Rocky’s lawyer Joseph Tacopina said the rapper admits to pulling the trigger on a firearm he was carrying that night, and that the he fired “two warning shots” from his “starter gun” to break up an alleged fight between Relli and A$AP Illz (real name Illijah Ulanger) – another member of their A$AP Mob collective.
He added that the gun used that night was a “prop gun” from a music video he had filmed months earlier with Rihanna, described in the trial as his “life partner” and the mother of his two young sons. Due to the gun being a prop, there were no shell casings fired from the firearm.
A crucial turning point in the trial – per Variety – saw Ephron confirm that he was at a shooting range two weeks before the shooting incident. This allowed for Mayers’ lawyers to argue that the two shell casings he found at the crime scene – after police searches of the area came up empty – were planted by Relli.
While not called in to testify, Rihanna appeared at several of the trial dates in support of A$AP Rocky. The two musicians, who met in 2012, began a romantic relationship in 2020. The couple – who are not married – have two children together.
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