Views: 11
Rap icon, Puma creative director and Grammy nominee A$AP Rocky, 36, will be going to trial in Los Angeles early next year on charges that he fired a gun at former friend and collaborator Terell Ephron on November 6th 2021. His girlfriend Rihanna, with whom he shares two children, has been invited to the trial by Los Angeles Judge Mark Arnold. A$AP Rocky was recently confirmed as co-chair of next year’s Met Gala alongside LeBron James, Calman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton and Pharrell Williams.
Yesterday, it was announced that the hearing would be delayed until January 2025 so the rapper can perform at a benefit concert in Thailand as per People.
This is the third time the trial date has been moved.
Here’s what you need to know about the circumstances around A$AP Rocky’s trial.
The A$AP Rocky Trial
A$AP Rocky – real name Rakim Mayers – is accused of shooting friend Terell Ephron in November 2021 following an argument in Hollywood, California. The rapper was arrested at Los Angeles Airport in April 2021 after returning from holidays with Rihanna. According to Variety he was released on $550,000 bail and charged in August.
Rocky faces two counts of felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm. He could receive 24 years in prison if he is found guilty. Rocky has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Ephron has also filed a separate civil assault and battery lawsuit against Rocky and is suing Rocky’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, for defamation as per Daily Mail. Ephron’s civil suit is being held pending the outcome of the criminal trial.
Ephron says that Rocky’s friendship dates back to their childhoods. It had soured recently, resulting in the November 6th, 2021 standoff.
The Evidence Against A$AP Rocky
As reported by Daily Mail, Ephron testified in November 2023 that following an argument, Rocky held a gun to Ephron’s stomach and said “I’ll kill you right now,” before firing two rounds.
Ephron sustained minor injuries to his knuckles, and the case is based on surveillance footage that prosecutors provided during a preliminary hearing. As reported by The Associated Press, video showed a group of men, two of whom were identified by officials as Rocky and Ephron, involved in a verbal altercation. Following the sound of two gunshots, a man runs around the corner and starts to walk.
Los Angeles Police Department detectives have said investigators established the individual as Rocky. The man’s face was concealed by a hooded sweatshirt, and appeared to be holding a firearm.
What Is The Likelihood That A$AP Rocky Will Be Found Guilty?
At the preliminary trial, the judge ruled that the video provided sufficient evidence for Rocky to stand trial. However, the standard of evidence required during preliminary hearings for a trial is much lower than the standard at trial.
According to the Associated Press, Rocky’s attorney Tacopina, who has represented Donald Trump, found that after questioning police detectives who searched the sidewalk 20 minutes after the shots were fired, no evidence of the shooting was discovered by police. The two 9mm shell casings were recovered by Ephron, who returned to the scene an hour after the incident. No 9mm pistol was found when police searched Rocky under a warrant.
Following the successful pre-trial Rocky’s attorney Joe Tacopina expressed no dismay. “We’re not disappointed, not surprised, we expected to go to trial, we’ve been planning for trial all along,” he said according to Associated Press, “Rocky is going to be vindicated when all this is said and done, without question.”
A$AP Rocky was found guilty of assault when he was jailed following a physical altercation in Sweden in 2019 but was given a conditional sentence which translated to no additional jail time.
Who Is Terell Ephron?
Ephron, who goes by the stage name A$AP Relli, is Rocky’s childhood friend. He was a member of Rocky’s ASAP Mob rap group, which started in Harlem in 2006.
He and Rocky met in high school in New York and became collaborators later. The Los Angeles Times reported that Ephron described the A$AP group as “a conglomerate of young men that have many different talents.” The acronym stands for “Always Strive And Prosper.”
He said that while Mayer became a Grammy-nominated musician and fashion icon, the two had remained “like brothers” over the years.
What Is The Feud Between A$AP Rocky And A$AP Relli
A series of text messages have mapped out the feud between former friends A$AP Rocky and A$AP Relli.
Ephron credits himself with bringing Rocky into the A$AP group. “I mean we were cool. We was really cool. I mean, like, we would chill – when we were young, we would chill all the time. We had dreams, pretty much.” Ephron said he remained only “slightly” involved in Rocky’s music career as it took off. He was reported by The Los Angeles Times as saying: “I got placements done – didn’t get credit.” He says that his income now comes from real estate in Costa Rica, private equity deals, and investments. Ephron denied that his falling out with Rocky was due to jealousy but said that Rocky had made “open-ended promises” to support Ephron in various business ventures that never eventuated.
He implied that Rocky had forgotten the group that was the foundation of his success and that he was looked at as a leader in the group. “He’s the top capo – he got put in a good position through A$AP,” he testified, “Everybody’s looking at Rocky like he’s got answers.”
He said that the majority of the group was struggling and in poverty. “Everybody’s broke or bums.” He said that some of the group had died of drug overdoses; one was living in a housing project, and another was homeless.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Ephron said that when a member of the group, A$AP Josh, died, Rocky promised Josh’s mother he would pay to return Josh to New York. Ephron said Rocky never followed through with the promise, which resulted in a series of heated texts between the two men. He later acknowledged that he learnt A$AP had paid for the entire funeral.
Ephron said a month after the text exchange he was in a car with Jabari Shelton, another member of the A$AP group. Shelton received a call from Rocky, and over the phone, Ephron heard Rocky invite Shelton to his performance at ComplexCon. Shelton refused, and Ephron alleged that Rocky had made an insulting comment about Ephron over the phone. Ephron followed up by sending Rocky a text message calling him a “pussy.”
What Terell Ephron Alleges Happened On November 2021
According to The Los Angeles Times Ephron testified that on November 6th, 2021 Ephron was staying at the Loews Hollywood Hotel. He woke up to several missed calls from Rocky and a text message saying “wya” short for “Where you at?” he then said “Let’s get to it” followed by “stop ducking my calls.”
Ephron FaceTime’d Rocky, giving him a false location, and agreed to meet up with Rocky to talk. “There was a little bit of tension so I thought there might be some roughing, but I thought we were going to walk away like brothers.”
He said walking down Hollywood Boulevard Rocky asked where he was so he “started jogging” to the location. He then heard Rocky say, “What now, pussy?” this led to a verbal altercation. Ephron says he saw both Rocky and another friend were armed.
“I felt this was my time to get everything off my chest,” Ephron testified. He said he was “letting him know how everybody feel – because nobody’s brave enough to say how they feel about him.” As reported by The Los Angeles Times he said as he followed Rocky and his friends down the street, the rapper turned around and shot at him.
An hour after leaving the scene, Ephron returned, picked up the shell casings and sent a photo to Rocky, writing, “U try killing me.” Mayers replied: “Rell wtf u talking bout?? Why u tellin ppl I shot at u.” During the exchange, Rocky texted, “Call the police if I ‘shot’ @ u u weirdo.”
Two days later, Ephron went to Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood station with an attorney and presented the casings.
Rocky’s attorney has alleged that Ephron made up the incident to extort money from his former friend and that Ephron’s lawyers asked Mayer’s civil attorneys for a cash settlement the day after the rapper was arrested.
When Will A$AP Rocky Go To Trial?
While there isn’t a specific date, A$AP Rocky’s trial will commence in January 2025.
The post A Complete Timeline Of The Gun Charges Against A$AP Rocky appeared first on ELLE.