A$AP Rocky Pleads Not Guilty In Shooting Trial Of Former Friend A$AP Relli
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A$AP Rocky has entered a not-guilty plea on felony charges of him firing a weapon at former friend and affiliate A$AP Relli. Legal name Rakim Mayers, the Harlem native pledged his innocence during a Monday (Jan. 8) hearing in Los Angeles.
According to The Guardian, Mayers is charged with two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and one count of personal use of a firearm related to a November 2021 incident. Judge Karla Kerlin set a pre-trial hearing date for March 6.
“We have a lot of evidence that we have a strong suspicion the prosecutors don’t know about,” shared Mayers’ defense attorney Joe Tacopina with the outlet. The rapper did not make any statement himself during the hearing.
The “Fashion Killa” performer was initially arrested in April 2022 regarding the alleged incident. In August of that year, the 35-year-old pleaded not guilty to felony assault with a firearm. He was banned from possessing any firearms or ammunition, as well as contacting or coming within 100 yards of alleged victim A$AP Relli, legal name Terrell Ephron.
Ephron, who claims the father of two lured him to a secluded area in Hollywood where the alleged shooting took place, planned a civil lawsuit. Ephron’s legal team, Jamal Tooson, and Brian Hurwitz, cite “multiple death threats and irreparable harm to his career in the entertainment industry as a result of this incident.”
A$AP Rocky’s legal team is firm in its hopes for an acquittal.
“No one likes to have to go through this, but he will. And he’ll come out stronger. And we’ll come out on top of this because he’s not guilty, and the evidence will reveal that,” Tacopina said of A$AP Rocky, according to courtroom reporter Meghann Cuniff.
“There’s no reason to discuss the possibility of conviction. Facts will take us in a certain direction, and we’ll deal with whatever comes our way.”
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