A $ AP Rocky was not found guilty in his crime gun process.
The verdict was announced on February 18 in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles. The 36-year-old rapper, actor and designer, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, hugged his lawyers when the news was announced. The courtroom broke out in the celebration. He was confronted with a maximum sentence of 24 years in prison.
Mayers’ old partner Rihanna was present for the verdict, according to Rolling Stone reporter Nancy Dillon. Rihanna made the headlines before the appearance of the court to close statements with the two sons of the couple, RZA, 2, and Riot Rose, 1, on February 13.
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The mother of Mayers, Renee Black and Zus, Erika B, were in the front row for the verdict, according to Dillon.
Prior to the judgment, Tacopina told TMZ that the case should be “a five -minute acquittal.”
Mayers, who did not testify, was accused of two crime counts of abuse with a semi -automatic firearm resulting from a confrontation with his high school friend Terell Ephron, who goes a $ AP Relli in Hollywood on November 6, 2021. The trial began on January 24 and was chaired by Judge Mark Arnold of the Supreme Court.
This would not have been Rocky’s first time in prison. At the age of 16 he was arrested for attempted murder attacks and spent two weeks on Rikers Island in New York before the charges were reduced and he was released. He was also arrested for mistreatment in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2019 and imprisoned. He was found guilty in the case that attracted national attention, but was released at that time and was not sentenced to extra prison.
Just before the start of the trial, Mayers rejected a deal of public prosecutors of a prison sentence of six months.
Rihanna supported Mayers in the court on February 18. The courtroom broke out when the judgment was read. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP)
What happened during the process?
Mayers and Ephron met in high school in New York City and were part of the A $ AP Mob Collective. In the years before their confrontation, they had a fight.
Ephron, who suits Mayers for $ 30 million over the alleged shooting, testified that Mayers shot him twice with a semi -automatic gun, which caused bloody injuries to his knuckles. The police were looking for the shell -om shells on the spot and did not recover them. Ephron said he went back and found two. Prosecutors had grainy security images of parts of the dispute and presented a 911 call from someone who said they saw the shooting.
Mayers’ lawyer Joe Tacopina, who previously represented President Trump, said the star had no real gun, but a starting gun was not wearing empty spots. Tacopina said Rocky wore it as a plug for security reasons. Mayers’ Tour Manager, Lou Levin, identified the Prop Gun as a Glock 26. Levin said he later gave it to the director of the “DMB” video of Mayers in New York City because it did not serve his goal as a deterrent.
One of the biggest trial moments was that Rihanna appeared in court before concluding statements with the sons of the couple. According to the Associated Press, the boys, equipped in suits, could be heard “cows” while the prosecutors delivered their business. During a break, Mayers wore his younger son through the hall past the jury.
Rihanna was at least five different days before the court. She told an AP reporter who asked how she lasted: “I’m good, thank you.”
Ephron’s testimony lasted five days and was controversial. At one point he shouted against Mayers: “You did this yourself!” Tacopina brought up Ephron’s lawsuit and suggested that he was motivated by money. He called Ephron’s injury “Knokkels,” and said that there was “no bullet in the world who could have done that.” At one point Ephron claimed recordings who reportedly spoke about the shooting that was played during the trial were fake and created by AI.
The prosecutors accused Mayers of coaching his friends before the court. When A $ AP Twelvyy (real name: Jamel Phillips) was on the stand as a witness of the defense, he was asked what the initials “Awge” – the name of the record label and the creative agency of Mayers – stand for. Mayers, who keep it secret, shouted from the defense table: “Don’t say it!”
In a alone in-Hollywood moment it turned out to be one of the witnesses-lapd Sargeant Thomas Zizzo-the son of Real Housewives of Beverly HillsErika Jayne.
There was ‘much reasonable doubt’ for the jury: legal expert
Prior to the judgment, lawyer Lauren Johnson-Norris of Johnson Criminal Law Group told Yahoo Entertainment that it was a tough fight for the public prosecutor.
“There is really not much evidence to support the theory of their persecution in this case,” she said. “Where is the gun that was used? How do we know that the Shell -Om shells came from the mysterious gun? And the SMS debacle was a shame for the DA. Presenting only Rocky’s text reactions without Relli’s words to put things in context and later accused Relli by his own words was a disaster for the case of the persecution. “
Johnson-Norris said that there was “many reasonable doubts for the jury to hang his hat.”
Although a lot was made about Rihanna who brought the children of the couple to court, also by the public prosecutor in his final declaration, Johnson-Norris said that Optica is part of the defense.
“The counsel for the counsel is to do everything they can to humanize their customers,” she said. “The jury was reminded that Rocky is a husband and a father and cannot avoid thinking about the impact on his family. I was not surprised that they were present in court, because Tacopina knows exactly how he can move a jury to ensure the consequences of their voice about his client. “
The same applies to the personal appearance of Mayers. The designer, who made his Paris Fashion Week debut last year, made stylish inputs and outputs of the court every day while camera crews chased him. Some days he wore sunglasses in court.
“Customers have to show up as if they are dressed for the most important day of their lives. In this case, Rocky did exactly that, “said Johnson-Norris.
What is the next step for a $ AP Rocky?
Mayers is planned to give the Rolling Loud Music Fest in California in March and the 2025 with Gala in May in co-chairman. He is also expected to release his fourth studio album, Don’t be stupidthis year and plays a role in the upcoming film by Spike Lee, Highest 2 lowestThat is expected this summer.
