Rihanna’s beau ASAP Rocky has been found not guilty of two felony counts of assault by jurors in Los Angeles after he was charged with firing a gun at a former friend
Rapper A$AP Rocky has been found not guilty of shooting at a former friend in 2021.
The star, fashion mogul and burgeoning actor risked more than 24 years in prison if he had been convicted. The Los Angeles jury took about three hours to decide on the not guilty verdict, clearing him of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
The three-time Grammy nominee was accused of pulling a gun and firing twice at former friend A$AP Relli.
Rocky’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said in his closing argument that Relli is “an angry pathological liar” who “committed perjury again and again and again and again.”
The defence argued that Rocky fired blanks from a prop gun that he picked up from a music video set in the argument.
Rihanna, Rocky’s long-time partner and mother of his two children, attended the trial on multiple occasions. She bought their two children along to the closing arguments, which Deputy District Attorney John Lewin said was an attempt to manipulate the jury.
The prosecutor said: “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.”
Rocky opted not to take the stand, but Relli did and said that one of the shots grazed his knuckle but he was otherwise uninjured.
The rapper, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, turned down an offer for six months in jail the night before the trial began.
A$AP Rocky has a busy year ahead now he is not going to prison. He is set to co-chair fashions biggest night, the Met Gala, in May and is releasing a new Spike Lee film “Highest 2 Lowest” with Denzel Washington in early summer.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
