Last year, A$AP Rocky was arrested in connection with a shooting that took place in 2021. The alleged victim later revealed himself to be former A$AP Mob member Terell "A$AP Relli" Ephron and sued Rocky, who was then charged with assault with a deadly weapon in August 2022.
At a preliminary hearing yesterday (November 20), a Los Angeles judge ruled that the rapper must stand trial in the case, as there is reportedly enough evidence for Rocky to face his two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm [via the Associated Press]. Rocky has pleaded not guilty to both charges and, according to prosecutors, faces up to 24 years in prison.
"We're not disappointed, not surprised, we expected to go to trial, we've been planning for trial all along," the rapper's attorney, Joe Tacopina, said outside court. "Rocky is going to be vindicated when all this is said and done, without question."
The hearing saw the prosecution and defence analyze footage from the scene of the alleged shooting outside of a Hollywood hotel on November 6, 2021, with prosecutors claiming to have identified Rocky.
Tacopina used bodycam footage to establish that police found no evidence of the alleged assault after searching the street 20 minutes after the reported sound of gunfire. The surveillance footage captured images of a hooded figure carrying what appears to be a gun, but detectives have yet to recover the weapon.
Ephron's testimony established that he and Rocky had been friends since childhood and had belonged to a collective of creatives at their New York high school. He alleged that their relationship had started to sour, which resulted in the standoff — which the alleged victim was under the impression was a confrontation to discuss a disagreement they'd had — when Rocky allegedly first pulled a gun on him, later allegedly firing shots that grazed his knuckles.
At a preliminary hearing yesterday (November 20), a Los Angeles judge ruled that the rapper must stand trial in the case, as there is reportedly enough evidence for Rocky to face his two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm [via the Associated Press]. Rocky has pleaded not guilty to both charges and, according to prosecutors, faces up to 24 years in prison.
"We're not disappointed, not surprised, we expected to go to trial, we've been planning for trial all along," the rapper's attorney, Joe Tacopina, said outside court. "Rocky is going to be vindicated when all this is said and done, without question."
The hearing saw the prosecution and defence analyze footage from the scene of the alleged shooting outside of a Hollywood hotel on November 6, 2021, with prosecutors claiming to have identified Rocky.
Tacopina used bodycam footage to establish that police found no evidence of the alleged assault after searching the street 20 minutes after the reported sound of gunfire. The surveillance footage captured images of a hooded figure carrying what appears to be a gun, but detectives have yet to recover the weapon.
Ephron's testimony established that he and Rocky had been friends since childhood and had belonged to a collective of creatives at their New York high school. He alleged that their relationship had started to sour, which resulted in the standoff — which the alleged victim was under the impression was a confrontation to discuss a disagreement they'd had — when Rocky allegedly first pulled a gun on him, later allegedly firing shots that grazed his knuckles.
