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The defense has concluded its closing arguments, and once the prosecution finishes its rebuttal, the jury in A$AP Rocky’s trial will be tasked with determining his guilt or innocence.
The People of the State of California v. Rakim Mayers began on Jan. 24. Rocky, as he has been called by the prosecution throughout the trial, faces two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. The charges stem from a 2021 altercation between Rocky and a former friend — Terell Ephron, also known as A$AP Relli. The 36-year-old rapper could be sentenced to up to 24 years in prison if convicted.
A$AP Rocky pleaded not guilty to all charges and turned down a plea deal that would have involved 180 days in jail and three years probation.
The case has been a mess from the very beginning. There is no physical evidence of a shooting — no gun, no bullet holes, no blood, or anything else to suggest that what the prosecution says happened took place.
From the LA Times:
Prosecutors said the incident on Nov. 6, 2021, began when Terrell Ephron, aka ASAP Relli, went to meet up with Rocky to repair their crumbling relationship. The divide between the two had been exacerbated by Ephron’s mistaken belief that Rocky failed to pay for another ASAP member’s funeral. Authorities allege Rocky showed up with two other members of ASAP Mob and a gun intent on settling their dispute with violence.
Video of the incident clearly captures Rocky holding a gun, but the footage of the actual shooting is grainy. There is no forensic evidence tying Mayers to the alleged attack, and an initial police canvass of the crime scene in response to a 911 call turned up no evidence of a shooting, according to LAPD officers.
It’s worth noting that Rocky’s defense attorney, Joe Tacopina, was once part of the legal team that represented Donald Trump during his criminal hush-money trial as well as for an appeal of the civil case brought against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll.
Tacopina has not denied that Rocky had a gun on the evening in question, but he maintains that it was a prop gun Rocky was carrying on the advice of his security team. According to the LA Times, several witnesses corroborated this story during the trial, saying Rocky began carrying the prop gun after he was attacked in a nightclub.
Tacopina has also brought into question the actions of Ephron. More from the Times:
The only witness identifying Rocky as the shooter is Ephron, who struggled during his cross-examination. Defense attorney Joe Tacopina painted him as a “perjurer” who contacted police only after retaining a civil lawyer to sue his former friend. Ephron claimed he recovered shell casings at the scene of the crime and turned them over to police two days later when he reported the shooting.
Rocky did not take the stand in his own defense.
Singer, actress, and business mogul Rihanna — Rocky’s partner and the mother of his two young children — showed up in court Thursday, bringing along the couple’s two young sons, according to AP.
The prosecution told jurors that they had to set aside their feelings for Rocky, Rihanna, and their children when making their determination, suggesting that the presence of the children was an attempt at manipulating the jury.
“They brought in two adorable children yesterday for closing argument,” Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney John Lewin said. “They haven’t been here any other time. And you have to ask yourselves, why children that age would be here in a situation like this?”
Lewin added, “You are not allowed to consider how this might affect Rihanna and his kids. We are all responsible for our own actions in the world.”
With no smoking gun, it will be up to the 12 jurors to decide whether or not the prosecution proved their case — a case that lacks any forensic evidence to show that a shooting ever happened.
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