A$AP Rocky rejected a final plea deal offer on the first day of his gun assault trial in Los Angeles on Tuesday. He also sat quietly when his lawyer first said the “Multiply” rapper was carrying only a “prop gun,” not a loaded semi-automatic pistol, the night he allegedly assaulted a former friend in November 2021.
The 36-year-old Grammy-nominated artist, born Rakim Mayers, previously pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. Prosecutors say he fired several shots on a street outside a Hollywood hotel during an argument with his former high school classmate and former collaborator A$AP Relli, born Terell Ephron. If convicted as charged, he faces up to 24 years in prison, prosecutors said.
The revelation that Mayers plans to call two witnesses claiming his alleged firearm was actually a “starter gun” came during a heated exchange in which prosecutors complained about learning of the existence of the “fake weapon” defense only Monday evening, the day before the long-awaited trial. . (At a probable cause hearing in late 2023, prosecutors presented surveillance video captured by a security camera in a parking lot that showed Mayers holding what they described as a 9mm handgun.)
Mayers’ lead defense attorney, Joe Tacopina, told Judge Mark S. Arnold on Tuesday that one of the witnesses will be Jamel Da’Shawn Phillips, known professionally as A$AP Twelvyy. Phillips was present the night of the altercation, he said, and the other defense witness is believed to be a tour manager who works with Mayers. Both men are expected to tell jurors that Mayers was known for carrying a “prop gun” because “he was the victim of violence (and) home invasions by stalkers,” Tacopina said.
“This is a brand new defense that has never been mentioned,” Assistant District Attorney John Lewin told the court. Reading the summary of Phillips’ expected testimony, Lewin said Phillips was expected to testify that Ephron “was the primary aggressor” and that Mayers only had the alleged starter gun as a “prop for security measures.”
“It’s a real ambush,” Lewin protested. “This is not a minor witness (story). That’s all their case. Their entire thesis is based on the statement of this witness.
When Judge Arnold asked why the defense didn’t release the details before the evidence exchange deadline 30 days ago, Tacopina said he let prosecutors know that Phillips planned to say that Ephron had become violent first and that Mayers never shot him. He suggested prosecutors could have contacted Phillips themselves, but never did.
“Should I just call and tell them what’s our defense?” » Tacopina asked, incredulous. “It’s our defense. Now they have everything, everything. »
The judge refused to take the extreme step of hitting both witnesses, but said he believed the defense had hidden the ball. “I don’t think it’s fair that you waited this long to disclose the original gun, if it’s essential to your defense,” he said. The judge then ruled that prosecutors could address the late disclosure in their opening statement.
At the end of the hearing, Judge Arnold asked if there had been a final plea deal offer from prosecutors. Assistant District Attorney Paul Przelomiec said his office proposed a sentence of 180 days in jail if Mayers pleads guilty to the first charge of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. The offer also called for three years of probation, a seven-year suspended prison sentence, 480 hours of community service and a 52-week anger management program. (Although it was not mentioned, such a deal would leave Mayers with a criminal record, meaning it would affect his ability to travel abroad for work.)
Lewin told the court that although the maximum possible sentence in this case was 24 years in prison, he and Przelomiec planned to seek at least 10 to 12 years in prison if Mayers was convicted. “We want to make sure he’s aware and understands (that),” Lewin said.
Judge Arnold then asked Mayers if he had time to review the agreement with his defense team. “Yes, they talked to me about it in detail, your honor,” Mayers said. “I respectfully decline, thank you.”
Judge Arnold also asked Tuesday whether a “marriage certificate” would be provided to allow the defense to name superstar singer Rihanna as Mayers’ “wife.” At a hearing last week, Tacopina testified that Rihanna, who shares two young sons with Mayers, was his client’s “common law spouse.” When Tacopina confirmed Tuesday that no certificate was forthcoming, the judge said Rihanna would be considered Mayers’ “significant other.” The judge then asked if Rihanna would attend the trial at any point.
“I anticipate at some point, but certainly not every day, and certainly not now,” Tacopina said. The judge asked the defense to warn him the day before such an appearance, apparently for security reasons.
At a preliminary hearing in November 2023, prosecutors showed video of the alleged armed assault on November 6, 2021. They claimed Mayers fired a gun at the corner of Selma Avenue and Vista Avenue Del Mar in Hollywood after first getting into a confrontation with Ephron outside the parking lot a block away.
Ephron testified that they were fighting because he accused Mayers of going back on a promise to pay for another friend’s funeral and being “so fake.” Mayers, through his attorney, claims Ephron fabricated the shooting and a hand injury to extort money from him. (Under cross-examination at the previous hearing, Ephron admitted that he eventually learned that Mayers had covered the funeral expenses.)
Separate grainy video captured by another camera on a nearby building allegedly showed the moment Mayers discharged his weapon, prosecutors alleged. The video had no sound and did not capture a muzzle flash, with only figures appearing to disperse around the same time, a police witness acknowledged. Surveillance clips recovered from other nearby buildings captured loud noises and then a man identified by prosecutors as Mayers turning a corner and slowing to walk. Prosecutors said the two loud cracks were the alleged gunshots.
Officers responding to the scene did not find any shell casings. Ephron said that when he personally returned after the police search, he found two 9mm shell casings which he photographed and then turned over to investigators.
Mayers made a bit of noise at the courthouse Tuesday, wearing a long black leather trench coat and surrounded by security guards. Passersby were speechless and took out their phones to take photos, leading a deputy to warn that anyone who took photos would have their device confiscated and searched. At least one apparent fan approached Mayers in the lobby to talk to him.
Judge Arnold told Mayers his fame would have no bearing on the trial. “You will not receive any special treatment. Your status as an artist, your status as Rihanna’s significant other, it’s not going to benefit you, and it’s not going to harm you,” he said.
“Are you aware that if you are found guilty, you will be detained and that it is very likely that you will receive a long prison sentence? » asked the judge.
“Yes, your honor, I am well aware of that,” Mayers said.
