A$AP Rocky is currently on trial for two counts of felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm. The famous rapper has been accused of firing a handgun at former friend and collaborator A$AP Relli outside a Hollywood hotel back in 2021. While Rocky has maintained his innocence, a judge decided on November 20, 2023 that there was enough evidence for the case to move forward. At a hearing on January 8, 2024, he pleaded not guilty to both counts in the case. His trial officially began on October 21, 2024.
Here is everything you need to know about Rocky’s assault case.
On November 6, 2021, Rocky (real name Rakim Mayers) allegedly got into a “heated discussion” with Relli (real name Terell Ephron), a childhood friend, outside the W Hotel in West Hollywood, California. Rihanna‘s boyfriend allegedly pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and fired it at Relli, before fleeing the scene.
“He grabbed me on my collar. He was shaking me. I tried to push him off, get his hands off,” Relli recalled in the courtroom on November 20, 2023, per PEOPLE. “That’s when [Rocky] pulled a gun from his waistband. It was a standard clip and a semi-automatic black gun. He pointed it toward my stomach.” Relli alleged that Rocky told him, “I’ll kill you right now,” before he allegedly shot him from 16 feet away.
Relli claimed he suffered minor injures that he showed photos of in the courtroom on November 20. He said an hour after the shooting, he returned to the scene to retrieve two 9mm shell casings. Relli explained in court that he waited two days to call 911 to report the incident, which was reportedly caught on nearby surveillance cameras.
Over five months after the shooting, Rocky was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on April 20, 2022, but was released on $550,000 bail just hours later. At the time, Rocky was coming home from Barbados where he was on vacation with Rihanna, with whom he now shares two children.
Rocky was officially charged with two counts of assault with a firearm on August 15, 2022. Two days later, the “Praise the Lord” rapper pled not guilty to the charges in a Los Angeles court. Relli reportedly filed a separate civil lawsuit against Rocky for assault, battery, and emotional distress, according to PEOPLE. Relli is seeking $25,000 in damages and additional damages to cover his medical bills.
