A$AP Rocky's friend-turned-accuser to testify at LA shooting trial

Independent

28-01-2025

A$ AP Rocky 's accuser, former friend and the key witness at his trial is set to take the stand Tuesday afternoon.
Rocky, the rapper and partner of Rihanna, has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm for allegedly firing at the friend who goes by A$AP Relli.
Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, met Relli, born Terell Ephron, in high school in New York when both were part of a crew of creators who called themselves A$AP — which stands for Always Strive and Prosper.
They remained close for years, as Rocky's star rose. But their relationship soured, coming to a head on Nov. 6, 2021, when the two aired their grievances in a confrontation on the streets of Hollywood. Prosecutors say Rocky pulled out a handgun and fired two shots at Relli, who says the bullet grazed his knuckles.
The defense argues Relli was the aggressor, and Rocky fired a starter pistol to break up a fight between him and another member of their crew. They said Rocky carried the pistol, which only shoots blanks, for security.
Before the jury was brought in, the defense revealed that they do not have the pistol.
'Does the prop gun exist?' Judge Matthew Arnold asked.
'The prop gun did exist,' Rocky's lawyer Joe Tacopina said. 'It does not now. We don't have it.'
Rocky's lawyers said Relli, who has also filed a civil lawsuit, is driven by 'jealousy, lies and greed" and fabricated large parts of the story to get money.
Earlier Tuesday, the defense cross-examined a police officer who responded to reports of a shooting about the absence of evidence at the scene.
'There was no sign of a shooting?" Tacopina asked.
'No,' said Sgt. Thomas Zizzo.
'No blood?'
'No.'
'No bullet holes?'
'No.'
No shell casings?
'No.'
'No physical evidence that a shooting happened at all?'
'No.'
Days after the shooting, Relli himself brought two shell casings to police that he said he had found at the scene after the police had searched.
Video from Zizzo's body camera played in court, showing seven officers who searched the scene and found nothing.
In earlier testimony Friday, Zizzo said that while police searched thoroughly, 'we may have missed something.'
The officer, who served in the Hollywood area, is the son of Erika Jayne, former star of 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and ex-wife of Tom Girardi, a disgraced and disbarred star lawyer who is awaiting sentencing at his own downtown LA trial.
Rocky sat in the courtroom next to his lawyers and watched stoically, wearing a tan sport coat with black slacks. His mother and sister sat in his section, as they have throughout the trial.
Rihanna, his longtime partner and the mother of their two toddler sons, was not in court. Rocky's lawyers said an appearance is unlikely but possible.