American rapper A$AP Rocky has been found not guilty of two counts of felony assault following a high-profile trial in Los Angeles.
The verdict, delivered on Tuesday, brings an end to a legal battle that could have seen the hip-hop star, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, sentenced to more than two decades in prison.
Mayers, who shares two children with global music icon Rihanna, was accused of firing a semi-automatic weapon at his former friend, Terell Ephron—also known as A$AP Relli—during a confrontation in Hollywood in November 2021.
He was arrested in 2022 and has since maintained his innocence, claiming he had only been carrying a harmless prop gun.
The courtroom erupted as the jury acquitted the 36-year-old rapper, with Mayers embracing supporters in relief.
His attorney, Joe Tacopina, dismissed the prosecution’s case as a fabricated attempt to extort money from his famous client.
“This was an extortion. The extortion played out live in court,” Tacopina told reporters, adding that the district attorney should now consider prosecuting Ephron.
The case revolved around conflicting testimonies. Prosecutors alleged that Mayers lured Ephron to a parking garage, where he pulled a gun, threatened to kill him, and fired two shots, one of which grazed Ephron’s knuckles.
However, Tacopina countered that no gun or shell casings were found at the scene, arguing that Ephron later “discovered” the casings himself in a bid to strengthen his claims.
Neither Mayers nor Rihanna, who was frequently present in court, issued an immediate statement following the verdict.
A$AP Rocky first gained fame with his chart-topping albums Long. Live. A$AP* and *At. Long. Last. A$AP.
This is not his first brush with the law—he previously faced legal troubles in Sweden in 2019, when a street fight led to a suspended prison sentence and even diplomatic intervention from then-US President Donald Trump.
