News

A$AP Rocky is headed for a trial — with no plans for Rihanna to attend — after being accused of shooting ex-friend A$AP Relli

Rapper A$AP Rocky will go to trial after he was accused of shooting a former friend. A judge ruled Monday that enough evidence exists to support his two assault with a firearm charges.

Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center during a preliminary hearing in his assault with a semiautomatic firearm case in Los Angeles. (Allison Dinner/EPA via AP, Pool)

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar in Los Angeles said California state law requires only a “scintilla” of evidence to support the charges, and prosecutors have provided” more than sufficient evidence,” including video showing a gun. The judge said she agrees with Rocky’s lawyer that another video doesn’t show the shooting, but in another, “You do hear two shots.”

Rocky, who is Rihanna’s boyfriend and the father of her two children, is accused of firing shots at Terell “A$AP Relli” Ephron on Nov. 6, 2021, in Hollywood. Ephron testified on Nov. 8 that the first bullet grazed the knuckles on his left hand. The evidence against Rocky includes a photo of Relli’s scraped knuckles. He sought medical attention at a hospital in New York after flying back there from Los Angeles.

His lawyer, prominent New York lawyer Joe Tacopina, told reporters outside the courthouse that he isn’t surprised Villar found probable cause given the low standard. He said he welcomes a trial.

“I am certain Rocky is going to be vindicated when all is said and done,” said Tacopina, who also represents former President Donald Trump in his tax fraud case related to the hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Tacopina also was Trump’s lawyer in the civil trial with a woman who accused him of raping her, columnist E. Jean Carroll, that ended with a Manhattan federal jury ordering Trump to pay Carroll $5 million for defaming and sexually abusing her.

He says the shooting never happened, and that Relli is falsely accusing Rocky to try to extort money from him.

“There’s some evidence that’s going to be insurmountable. The witness is not going to be able to withstand cross-examination in front of the jury,” Tacopina told reporters.

Relli testified on Nov. 8 that he was angry with Rocky because he believed Rocky had backed out of a plan to pay for a friend’s body to be flown back to New York. Relli sent Rocky a text that began, “You so fucking fake it’s sad,” then overheard Rocky disparaging him in a phone call to a mutual friend. Rocky later texted him asking him, “Wya?” — short for “Where you at” — “Lets get to it” and “Stop duckin my calls.”

They met near a hotel in Hollywood, and Rocky was “coming hot,” Relli testified. He said Rocky pointed the gun in his stomach and said “I’ll kill you right now.” He then fired three to four shots, the first of which grazed Relli’s knuckles, he said.

“He was on my ass. He was trying to, like, shoot me,” Relli said. Relli said he ran from the scene, then contacted the police on Nov. 8 after contacting a lawyer.

Los Angeles police Detective Frank Flores was the only other witness beside Relli. He testified Monday about collecting the surveillance video and extracting still images from it, including one he said shows Rocky holding a gun.

Legal name Rakim Mayers, 35-year-old Rocky was charged in November 2022 with two counts of first-degree assault with a firearm.

Rocky was arrested in April 2022 at the Los Angeles airport as he returned from Barbados with Rihanna, and police raided the couple’s home in Los Angeles. He posted $550,000 bond and has been out of custody ever since.

Asked what he would tell Rihanna if she wanted to go to court to support Rocky, Tacopina said Rocky “would never subject his family. He wants to shield them.”

“He’s handling it like Rocky would handle something. He protects his family,” Tacopina said.

Relli also is suing Rocky and Tacopina for defamation, and he’s represented by Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez, the same lawyers who represented Johnny Depp in his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard.

Relli has another lawsuit against Rocky for assault, battery, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Judge Villar shut down Tacopina’s questions about the lawsuits and Relli’s hiring of a civil lawyer, saying she doesn’t believe the issue is relevant to whether probable cause exists.

Related Posts

Watch as yet MORE horror floods smash Spain with torrents sweeping cars like litter just days after more than 200 killed

A FRESH wave of horror floods has smashed Spain yet again with devastating footage showing powerful torrents sweeping cars like litter. It comes while the country is still reeling from torrential rains and storms that wreaked havoc – killing more than 200 people and leaving a trail of utter disaster. Now Spain’s Almeria city has been hit by fresh floods as more regions turn into sight of carnage.

Annastacia Palaszczuk called out after dismissing nuclear energy on Q+A appearance

A teenage boy has called out former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk after she rejected nuclear power plants as an option for Australia’s future energy mix. On ABC’s Q+A, Ms Palaszczuk argued against nuclear energy during a debate about Peter Dutton’s proposal to construct seven nuclear reactors if he wins the next election. ‘Nuclear is not the option,’ Ms Palaszczuk argued on Monday night.

Britain RUBBISHES Russian claim of ‘war drills’ in channel & says Vlad’s ship quietly ‘transited’ under our watchful eye

THE Royal Navy has rubbished Russia’s claims its “most dangerous“ warship held military drills in the English Channel. State media reported the ultra-modern Admiral Golovko practised combat against mock enemies while passing through. Sabre-rattling Putin deployed the Project 22350 warship from its Arctic home base in Severomorsk 11 days ago for its maiden long-distance voyage.

Militant farmers to stage a ‘national strike’ against Rachel Reeves’ inheritance tax raids – with meat and crops set to be withheld from supermarkets

Militant farmers will hold back meat and crops from supermarkets next week as part of a ‘national strike’ against Labour’s inheritance tax raids. The direct action will be taken by ‘several thousand’ UK farmers over a week starting from Sunday. It coincides with over 10,000 farmers heading to London for a march against the punishing tax next Tuesday, November 19.

Bizarre 300ft ‘Egyptian’ pyramid topped by crystal skull loomed abandoned over US city before getting surprising new use

A BIZARRE Egyptian-style pyramid with a “cursed“ crystal skull on top was left abandoned in the US – before it was given an unintended new use. The 321ft Memphis Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee had faced several problems, which was all blamed on a mysterious curse by it’s creator. The mind behind the outlandish structure even claims that there are still other hidden artefacts inside that are yet to be discovered more than 30 years later.

I’m in my 40s and fell in love with a teenage convict in a high-security US prison after writing to him from Essex… we’re now planning our wedding

A British woman in her 40s fell in love with a teenage American inmate in a maximum security prison after writing to him from Essex – and now they’re planning their wedding. Lucy Patterson, 42, first came across Sean Hetzer on a website that allows you to write to prisoners while she was studying a degree in forensic psychology. Sean , now 26, was 18 years old when Lucy first reached out and he was just three years into a ten-year sentence after pleading guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon at Bexar County District Courts, San Antonio, Texas, back in February 2014.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *