A$AP Rocky Pleads Not Guilty to Shooting A$AP Relli Ahead of Upcoming Trial

A$AP Rocky again denies shooting his former associate during a November 2021 incident.

A$AP Rocky is again pleading not guilty to felony gun charges that claim he shot Terell Ephron (formerly known as A$AP Relli) in Hollywood in November 2021.

The assault case against the 35-year-old rapper, born Rakim Mayers, has been slowly developing ever since he was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport in connection to the crime in April 2022. In November, during a preliminary hearing that included testimony and surveillance video evidence, a Los Angeles judge ruled there was sufficient evidence for Rocky to go on trial.

The rapper, and current creative director of Puma, is facing felony gun charges, including two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. The alleged victim claims Rocky fired a gun twice in his direction, leaving his left hand injured.

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Surveillance video shown during the preliminary hearing shows a group of men involved in an argument at an intersection, but “you don’t see an actual shooting on the video,” according to a report by Rolling Stone. Additional footage captured what sounds like two gunshots with a timestamp matching the alleged shooting. After shots are fired, a man comes running around a corner and returns to a normal walk. The man’s identity is not clear in the video, but a Los Angeles detective has testified their unit established the man’s identity as Rocky.

Rocky has previously pleaded not guilty to the same charges, claiming through his attorney that he was a victim in the altercation.

Representatives for Rocky did not immediately return Variety‘s request for further comment though Rocky’s defense lawyer, Joe Tacopin, told Rolling Stone of Ephron: “He’s a failed associate — ex-associate — of Rocky’s, and he’s jealous. He was trying to get money from Rocky. He wanted Rocky to support him. He made it clear. There were repeated attempts where he tried to ask for money in lieu of not causing problems for Rocky. That’s what he said. We have all this memorialized in text messages and otherwise, so it’s an extortion.”

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Martina Birk

Update: 2024-03-12

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