A$AP Rocky’s alleged past has come back to haunt him as a Los Angeles judge has called him to stand trial stemming from a 2021 shooting case involving him and former A$AP Mob member Terell “A$AP Relli” Ephron.
On Nov. 6, 2021, the former friends and groupmates allegedly got into a verbal altercation, and, according to authorities, “The argument escalated and resulted in [Rocky] firing a handgun at [Relli]. [Relli] sustained a minor injury from the incident and later sought medical treatment. Following the shooting, [Rocky] and two additional males fled the area on foot.”
In April 2022, Rocky was detained by the Los Angeles Police Department at the Los Angeles International Airport after returning from Barbados with his girlfriend Rihanna, who was pregnant with their first son RZA. The “A$AP Forever” rapper was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon and was later released on a $550,000 bail.
That following August, he pled not guilty to the charges, but one year later Judge M.L. Villar ruled that he must stand trial. Villar made the decision after a day-and-a-half of testimony where she stated that, “The totality of the video and testimony” showed enough sufficient evidence to go to trial.
During one day of testimony, Relli talked about how he and Rocky were longtime friends before their relationship deteriorated. He said this led to the 2021 incident, and he said there was a later incident where Rocky pulled the trigger, and the bullets grazed his knuckles.
Rocky’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, said that when authorities looked over the alleged shooting scene, they found no evidence that anything had occurred. The police didn’t find any shell casings until Relli handed some over two days later when he went to report the incident. One of the detectives on the case said there were no recoverable fingerprints on them.
The prosecution showed video footage, which they said proved that Rocky was on the scene and had a gun in his possession. The video footage was later released to the public, but different media outlets have fans confused as to which person is Rocky and which is Relli.
On TMZ’s website, a red arrow that says “A$AP Rocky” points at a man wearing a black hoodie with words on the hood. That same man can be seen pulling a gun out after being confronted by another man wearing a gray hoodie with a graphic on the back.
However, when Hollywood Unlocked reposted the video, the arrow was switched, therefore, Rocky appears as the man with the gray hoodie who confronts the other guy and gets the gun pulled on him.
Fans who saw Hollywood Unlocked’s post said things like, “That’s not asap with the gun… not the same hoodie.. white skull on the back missing.” Another confused viewer wrote, “so ASAP had a hoodie with a graphic on the back, but when y’all showed the gun the guy holding it didnt have a Graphic on the back of the hoodie…. Come on now.”
Fans seem torn after watching TMZ’s video, with some believing it was Rocky with the gun and others casting doubt. But some are still conflicted, making comments such as, “As a juror I do see what’s happening but I can’t tell who it is. I could not convict.”
During the preliminary hearing, Tacopina argued that even if it was Rocky in the video, there was no proof that what he had was a gun. The attorney asked one of the detectives, “You’re not sure if it’s an operable gun or a non-operable gun or whatever?” and the detective replied that without having the weapon he could not say if it was operable or not.
Tacopina also made light of Relli’s injuries as he showed the detective a photo of his scrapped fingers and said that it was “a miracle he survived that shooting.” This led to Villar chastising the attorney, which was said to have happened multiple times throughout the hearing.
