A$AP Rocky’s trial for allegedly shooting and killing a former friend in 2021 began in Los Angeles on Tuesday and is expected to last three weeks.
The 36-year-old rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was charged with two felonies of assault with a semi-automatic weapon. He is accused of firing a gun twice at Terrell Efron, formerly known as A$AP Leri, after an argument in Hollywood, California in November 2021. In January 2024, he pleaded not guilty to weapons charges.
A$AP Rocky, who is the father of two young children with his longtime girlfriend Rihanna, will begin his trial on January 21 after his defense team asked for the trial to be postponed from its original November 12 date. It is planned. His attorney, Joe Tacopina, confirmed to USA TODAY that the postponement allowed him to headline the Rolling Loud music festival in Thailand in November.
In November, at a preliminary hearing that included testimony and surveillance video evidence, a Los Angeles judge ruled there was enough evidence to take Puma’s creative director to trial.
The Harlem, New York-born artist’s trial is sure to complicate life with the Bajan billionaire, with whom he shares children RZA, 2, and Riot Rose, 1. ) is there.
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“We’re ready. It’s been a long time,” Rocky’s attorney Joe Tacopina said after the hearing on January 15, according to the Associated Press. “It’s been hanging over Rocky and Rihanna and their families’ heads for some time. We’re anxious to get this started and get this behind him.”
The rapper, who is also co-chair of the 2025 Met Gala, is set to release his delayed fourth studio album, Don’t Be Damn, in early 2025, so we wonder how this incident will affect his career. It is unclear whether it will be given. He is also scheduled to appear in Rose Byrne’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, which is scheduled to be released this month, as well as the new Spike Lee film, Highest 2 Lowest, in which he co-stars with Denzel. Washington, Jeffrey Wright and Ice Spice later this year, according to his IMDb page.
If convicted on all charges, he could face up to 24 years in prison. The case comes after he was arrested in Sweden in 2019 on assault charges, was convicted and spent more than a month in prison.
Here’s what we know:
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When will A$AP Rocky’s court trial start?
A tentative trial date has been set for January 21 in Los Angeles.
A$AP Rocky footage: What is the rapper accused of doing?
Rocky is accused of fatally shooting his former friend after an argument near a hotel in Hollywood, California, on November 6, 2021.
According to a statement tweeted by the Los Angeles Police Department in April 2022, authorities say the argument escalated to the point where Rocky “fired a handgun” at Efron.
Police said Efron received medical treatment but suffered only minor injuries. Police said Rocky and two others fled the scene on foot.
According to the Associated Press, a video released in court in November showed a group of men, two of whom officials identified as Rocky and Efron, getting into an argument.
The report said the video prosecutors showed during a preliminary hearing in November included what sounded like two gunshots followed by what sounded like a man running around a corner and starting to walk. . The man’s identity is unknown, but a Los Angeles Police Department detective said investigators have confirmed the man was Rocky.
According to the Associated Press, the video shows a man whose face cannot be seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt holding what appears to be a firearm. Images from the video show a man wearing a sweatshirt and no gun visible. According to the newspaper, detectives said the images led investigators to believe the person in question was the Billboard chart-topping rapper.
What crime is A$AP Rocky facing?
Rocky faces two felonies in criminal court for assault with a semi-automatic weapon. He also faces a separate civil lawsuit from Efron.
Who is A$AP Leli?
According to the Associated Press, Efron, formerly known as A$AP Leri, testified at a hearing in November that he and his childhood friend Rocky were in the same artist group in New York high school. Both are part of what is known as the A$AP Mob, a hip-hop collective featuring chart-topping rappers A$AP Ferg and the late A$AP Yams.
Their relationship subsequently deteriorated and a confrontation occurred in Hollywood on November 6, 2021, with Efron saying Rocky first pulled a gun on him.
There was also a subsequent confrontation in which Rocky allegedly fired a gun, grazing his former friend in the joint, the Associated Press reported. Police did not recover the alleged firearm, a 9mm handgun, when they served a search warrant on Rocky.
A$AP Rocky arrested for assault
In April 2022, police arrested the “Fashion Killa” rapper in connection with a shooting at Los Angeles International Airport, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed at the time. The rapper was returning from a trip to Barbados with Rihanna when police detained him at Los Angeles International Airport and later arrested him on suspicion of “assault with a deadly weapon.”
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The “Praise the Lord” rapper was later released on $550,000 bail, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to USA TODAY. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Victoria B. Wilson ordered the rapper to distance himself from Efron.
In August 2022, Rocky pleaded not guilty. Rocky was required to plead not guilty a second time in January 2024, following a November ruling that there was enough evidence to take the rapper to trial.
Contributor: Charles Trepany