A$AP Rocky has been found to be innocent of filming his former friend A$AP Relli in 2021.
After three weeks of testimony, Rocky (born Rakim Mayers) was acquitted from all criminal charges in the case on Tuesday. In Hollywood, California. The Grammy-nominated rapper was charged with two felony assaults with a semi-automatic firearm.
After the ju-degree read the first innocent verdict, it was rocky and rocky, leaning up into the audience where Rihanna was reportedly sitting with his defense attorney. .
According to the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times, he took a little time to accept her and came back to hear the second verdict, but this was also innocent. The ju umpire’s decision was filled with collective roars from people sitting in the gallery.
As the ju apprentice left the court, Rocky expressed his gratitude to the 12 ju apprentices. This includes seven women and five men, “Thank you for saving my life.”
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Rocky, who failed to testify in his case, previously turned down a pretrial plea deal for the prosecutor, who had been sentenced to six months. He is expected to co-chair the Met Gala in May and will be appearing in Spike Lee’s upcoming film, Highties 2 Lowest, later this year.
The 36-year-old rapper faced up to 24 years in prison if convicted of all charges. He is also facing another civil suit from Efron.
The judges began deliberations Tuesday morning following a three-week trial in Los Angeles.
$AP Rocky Trial’s biggest moment: Rihanna’s appearance, Relli’s vibrant testimony
Rihanna joins $AP Rocky outside of court
Rocky is Rihanna’s longtime partner, founder of billionaire Fenty Beauty, and nine Grammy-winning Grammy-winning recording artist, with a one-year-old riot and two-year-old RZA. I share two children.
“I want to thank God first,” Rocky told reporters outside the courtroom, but was adjacent to his legal team and Rihanna. “This is crazy right now.”
“I am grateful and blessed to be here and being a free man talking to Y’all,” he added.
Rihanna frequently appeared during trials, often sitting among court audiences with Rocky’s mother and sister. On February 13, Rihanna brought reinforcements to discuss the closing of the case and sat in court with Rocky’s two sons, according to the Associated Press and Rolling Stone.
LA County District Attorney Responds to Innocent Verdict
La.A. County’s newly elected district attorney, Nathan Hochman, has admitted that the prosecutor was hit by the Rocky case. He also maintained his office’s commitment to chasing law-breaking people, even if they were celebrities.
“The verdict today is not the outcome we are sought, but we respect the decisions of the Ju Court and the integrity of the judicial system. Our office breaks the law regardless of their status or influence. We are committed to asking people to accountability,” Hochman said. A statement Tuesday night.
“Facial no one places on the law. We are not shaken by pursuing justice for our victims and our community.”
$AP What happened at Rocky’s trial?
In court, the rapper wielded a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office gun and shot and killed a gun that grazeed his former friend’s knuckle after Rocky’s defense attorney Joe Takopina claimed that the suspicious weapon was nothing more than a prop gun. He was charged by prosecutors with shooting and killing the gun.
The victim, Efron, was an sometimes animated witness and provided passionate testimony. His contradictory statement likely complicated the ju judge’s verdict after his actions in the stands.
During cross-examination on January 30th, Efron seemed to be getting more impatience as Takopina questioned him in court.
He caused a stir when he cried out to Rocky: “You did this to yourself!” Judge Mark Arnold instructs Efron to “not talk to the defendant.” and guided the judge so that Efron’s lawyer could explain to him how to properly answer him in court.
Earlier in the trial, Efron overturned his previous testimony, where he said it was likely that his video at the gun club was filmed in New Jersey.
According to the Rolling Stone and Courthouse News Service, he later reversed the course under pressure from Rocky’s lawyers and admitted that he showed he shot a semi-automatic gun at the LA Gun Club in front of a ju umpire I did. His contradictory statement was only a portion of a week of testimony that the ju apprentices considered to reach their verdict.
Contributors: Anna Kaufman, USA Today; Reuters, Lisa Richwine