Rapper A$AP Rocky Pleads Not Guilty To Assault Charges Over 2021 Hollywood Shooting – Update

Armando Tinoco
·3 min read
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UPDATED, 12:28 PM: A$AP Rocky pleaded not guilty today to charges stemming from an allegation that he pulled a gun on a fellow rapper during a 2021 altercation in Hollywood and then fired at him soon afterward during another confrontation.

The multiplatinum artist (real name Rakim Mayers) is charged with two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, along with allegations that he used a firearm against Terell Ephron aka A$AP Relli on the night of November 6, 2021. He remains free on bond.

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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar ruled in November that there was sufficient evidence to allow the case against Mayers to proceed to trial. Ephron testified at the hearing that he saw Mayers outside a parking garage in an encounter partially caught on surveillance video and that Mayers pulled a gun from his waistband, put it toward his stomach and said, “I’ll kill you right now.”

At that same hearing, Mayers’ attorney Joe Tacopina urged Villar to dismiss the case for lack of evidence. Outside court today, Tacopina told reporters that his client will be “vindicated.” “I want to get this done and over so he can start enjoying his family and move on,” the lawyer said. “We’re going to be quiet and we’re going to try this [case] in a courtroom, and when we do, facts will come out that show that [Mayers is] truly innocent and he’s a victim in this case.”

Mayers was found guilty of assault in Sweden for a 2019 street brawl in Stockholm and given a suspended sentence. It became an international incident after then-President Donald Trump lobbied on behalf of the rapper in a tweet, writing, “It was a Rocky Week, get home ASAP A$AP!”

PREVIOUSLY, August 2022: A$AP Rocky has been charged with two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced. The rapper is accused of firing multiple shots at a former friend in an encounter in Hollywood back in November 2021.

“Discharging a gun in a public place is a serious offense that could have ended with tragic consequences not only for the person targeted but also for innocent bystanders visiting Hollywood,” Gascón said in a news release. “My office conducted a thorough review of the evidence in this case and determined that the addition of a special firearm allegation was warranted.”

The 33-year-old artist, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was arrested in April 2022 in connection to the shooting. Mayers was returning from a vacation with Rihanna when authorities detained him at Los Angeles International Airport.

“On November 6, 2021, around 10:15 p.m., an argument between two acquaintances occurred in the area of Selma Avenue and Argyle Avenue, in the Hollywood Area,” read the Los Angeles Police Department statement from the time of the apprehension. “The argument escalated and resulted in the suspect firing a handgun at the victim. The victim sustained a minor injury from the incident and later sought his medical treatment. Following the shooting, the suspect and two additional males fled the area on foot.”

The rapper is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday and the LAPD will continue to investigate the case.

Back in 2019, Mayers was found guilty of assault in Sweden for a street brawl in Stockholm.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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