Rapper A$AP Rocky has been acquitted of felony assault following a high-profile trial in Los Angeles.
The jury delivered the not-guilty verdict on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 18, after just three hours of deliberation.
Upon hearing the decision, the hip-hop star, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, turned to embrace his jubilant supporters but stumbled as he did so.
“Thank you all for saving my life,” Mayers told jurors as they exited the courtroom.
The 36-year-old rapper had faced two felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. If convicted, he could have been sentenced to up to 24 years in prison.
Ahead of the trial, Mayers declined a prosecution deal that offered six months in jail, probation, and other conditions in exchange for pleading guilty to one count.
Prosecutors claimed that during a dispute on a Hollywood street, Mayers fired a gun twice at his former close friend and fellow rapper, A$AP Relli. The two had been part of the A$AP Mob crew since high school.
The alleged incident took place on November 6, 2021. Prosecutors argued that after a scuffle, Mayers pulled a gun and fired twice at Relli, whose real name is Terrell Ephron. Ephron, the prosecution’s key witness, testified that a bullet grazed his knuckles but that he was otherwise unharmed.
The defense countered that Mayers had only fired blanks from a prop gun obtained from a music video set. Two of the rapper’s associates testified in support of this claim.
Mayers’ attorney, Joe Tacopina, dismissed Ephron as “an angry pathological liar” who “committed perjury again and again.”
Throughout much of the trial, Mayers’ partner, global music icon Rihanna, was in attendance. She brought their two young sons—2-year-old RZA Athelston Mayers and 1-year-old Riot Rose Mayers—to the courtroom for closing arguments.
Deputy District Attorney John Lewin suggested this was a strategic move to influence the jury.
“They brought in two adorable children… for closing argument,” Lewin said. “They haven’t been here any other time. And you have to ask yourselves, why would children that age be here in a situation like this?”
He reminded the jury, “You are not allowed to consider how this might affect Rihanna and his kids. We are all responsible for our own actions in the world.”
When the not-guilty verdict was announced on Tuesday, Rihanna was seen in tears, embracing the defense attorneys.
Later, she posted on her Instagram Stories: “The glory belongs to God and God alone! Thankful, humbled by His mercy.”
