A$AP Rocky rejected a final plea deal offer on the first day of his firearm assault trial in Los Angeles Tuesday. He sat quietly as his lawyer said for the first time that the “Multiply” rapper was only carrying a “prop gun,” not a loaded semiautomatic pistol, the night he allegedly assaulted a former friend in November 2021.
The 36-year-old Grammy-nominated artist, born Rakim Mayers, pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. Prosecutors claim he fired multiple shots on a street outside a Hollywood hotel during a quarrel with his former high school classmate and onetime collaborator A$AP Relli, born Terell Ephron. If convicted as charged, he faces up to 24 years in prison, prosecutors said.
The revelation that Mayers’ defense will center on testimony claiming his firearm was a “starter pistol” came during a heated exchange where prosecutors complained that they only learned about the “fake gun” defense on Monday night, the eve of the long-awaited trial. (At a probable cause hearing in late 2023, prosecutors presented video captured by a parking garage security camera that showed Mayers holding what they described as a gun.)
Mayers’ lead defense lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told Judge Mark S. Arnold Tuesday that he planned to call two witnesses to testify for jurors. He said one would be Jamel Da’Shawn Phillips, known professionally as A$AP Twelvyy. Phillips was present the night of the altercation, he said. The other defense witness would be a tour manager who works with Mayers. Both were expected to tell jurors that Mayers was known to carry a prop gun because “he was the victim of prior violence [and] stalker home invasions,” Tacopina said.
“It’s a brand-new defense that’s never been mentioned,” Deputy District Attorney John Lewin told the court. Reading from the summary of Phillips’ expected testimony shared Monday, Lewin said Phillips was expected to testify that Ephron “was the first aggressor,” and that Mayers only had the alleged starter pistol as a “prop for security measures.”
“This is a straight ambush,” Lewin protested. “This is not a minor witness [account]. This is their whole case. Their whole case is based on this witnesses statement.”
When Judge Arnold asked why the defense didn’t disclose the detail by the deadline for evidence exchange 30 days ago, Tacopina said he let prosecutors know Phillips planned to say Ephron turned violent first and that Mayers never fired on him. He suggested prosecutors could have reached out to Phillips themselves but never did.
“I should just call and tell them what our defense is?” Tacopina asked, incredulous. “That’s our defense. Now they have everything — everything.”
The judge declined to take the extreme step of striking the two witnesses but said he believed the defense hid the ball. “I don’t think it’s fair that you waited this long to disclose the starter pistol, if that’s central to your defense,” he said. The judge then ruled prosecutors could bring up the late disclosure in their opening statement.
As the hearing concluded, Judge Arnold asked if there had been a final plea deal offer from prosecutors. Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec said his office made an offer with 180 days in county jail if Mayers pleaded guilty to the first count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. The offer also required three years of probation, a seven-year suspended prison sentence, 480 hours of community service, and a 52-week anger management program. (Though it wasn’t mentioned, such a deal would leave Mayers with a felony record, meaning it would affect his ability to travel abroad for work.)
Lewin told the court that while the maximum sentence possible in the case was 24 years behind bars, he and Przelomiec planned to ask for at least 10 to 12 years in prison if Mayers was convicted. “We want to make sure he is aware and understands [that],” Lewin said.
Judge Arnold then asked Mayers if he had time to review the deal with his defense team. “Yeah, they spoke to me about it detail, your honor,” Mayers said. “I respectfully decline, thank you.”
Judge Arnold also asked Tuesday if any “marriage certificate” would be provided to enable the defense to refer to superstar singer Rihanna as Mayers’ “wife.” At a hearing last week, Tacopina said that Rihanna, who shares two young sons with Mayers, was his client’s “common-law wife.” When Tacopina confirmed Tuesday that no certificate was forthcoming, the judge said Rihanna would be referred to as Mayers’ “significant other.” The judge then asked if Rihanna would be attending the trial at any point.
“I anticipate at some point, but certainly not every day, and certainly not now,” Tacopina said. The judge asked the defense to let him know the day before any such appearance, apparently for security reasons.
At a preliminary hearing in November 2023, prosecutors showed video of the alleged Nov. 6, 2021 gun assault. They claimed Mayers fired a weapon at the corner of Selma Ave. and Vista Del Mar Ave. in Hollywood after first engaging in a confrontation with Ephron outside the parking garage a block away.
Ephron testified they were fighting because he accused Mayers of reneging on a promise to pay for another friend’s funeral and being “so fucking fake.” Mayers, through his lawyer, not only claims he paid for the funeral but that Ephron fabricated the shooting and a grazing injury to his hand to extort him for money.
The grainy video captured by a camera on a nearby building showed the moment Mayers discharged his weapon, prosecutors claimed. The video had no sound and did not capture a muzzle flash, only figures appearing to scatter simultaneously, a police witness acknowledged. Surveillance clips recovered from other nearby buildings captured loud noises and then a man identified by prosecutors as Mayers rounding a corner and slowing down to a walk. Prosecutors claimed the loud cracks were the alleged shots.
Officers who responded to the scene did not find any shell casings. Ephron testified that when he personally returned after the police search, he found two 9mm shell casings that he photographed and later handed over to investigators.
Mayers caused a minor stir at the courthouse Tuesday, dressed sharply in a long black leather trench coat and surrounded by security. Passersby gawked and pulled their phones out to take pictures, leading a deputy to warn that anyone snapping photos would have their devices confiscated and searched. At least one apparent fan approached Mayers in the lobby to talk to him.
Judge Arnold told Mayers that his fame would have no bearing on the trial. “You’re not going to get any special treatment. Your status as an entertainer, your status as the significant other of Rihanna, that’s not going to inure to your benefit, and it’s not going to inure to your harm,” he said.
“You are aware that if convicted, you will go into custody and it’s very likely you will get a significant prison sentence?” the judge asked.
“Yes, your honor, I’m well aware,” Mayers said.
From Rolling Stone US
