LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury of five men and seven women was seated Thursday for the trial of rapper A$AP Rocky, who is accused of pulling a gun on a former friend in 2021.
Opening statements in the Los Angeles trial of 36-year-old hip-hop and fashion superstar Maven will begin Friday after all 12 jurors and four alternates are sworn in.
Rocky refused a plea offer of 180 days in jail to face years in prison if jurors find him guilty of two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer says he committed no crime.
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He instead chose to risk trial on two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, charging that conviction carries a penalty of up to 24 years in prison.
It took both sides 2 1/2 days to choose jurors from a pool of more than a hundred candidates who packed a downtown La courtroom. Those chosen include a woman who is podcast writer and actor, and a man who worked for over 20 years at Trader Joe’s. The last seated alternative is a retired judge.
Many were excused for cause, others sent by one of the two parties. Each had 10 jurors they could excuse without reason. The defense used seven of their challenges, the prosecution only two.
A man interviewed Thursday works as a civilian with the Los Angeles Police Department and has extensive ties to law enforcement, including a cousin who was listed as a witness in the case but is not expected to be called .
After the judge refused to dismiss it for cause, Rocky’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, removed him from the jury.
“Here’s a shocker, we’re going to thank and excuse juror number 27.”
Attitudes toward police were a common topic during jury selection. In several heated moments, Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold, a former sheriff’s deputy, questioned those who said they distrusted the police, almost debating with some of them.
He asked a woman, a speech therapist, if he should be wary of all speech therapists based on his bad experience with one.
When another woman brought up police corruption, Arnold asked her to “tell me about the documented corruption at the LAPD that you had to read or hear about.”
When she brought up the Rodney King case, he asked, “You’re going to stand up to today’s police for something that happened before they were born?”
Many questions focused on Rocky’s fame and particularly Rihanna, his longtime life partner and mother of his two young children. She was not in court Thursday, and it is unclear whether she will appear during the trial.
“And if Rihanna comes to trial here, is it difficult for you to look over there and see the family of the accused and return a guilty verdict?” Deputy Prosecutor John Lewin asked a woman.
After a long pause, she said “yes.”
Rocky is accused of firing three or four shots at Terell Ephron, a friend from his teenage years, on the streets of Hollywood in 2021. Ephron said the gunshots grazed him. Rocky has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers say he wasn’t even holding a real weapon, but a starter gun that he used as a prop.
