ASAP Rocky Found Not Guilty of Shooting Former Friend in Assault Trial

Music|ASAP Rocky Acquitted of Shooting Former Friend

ASAP Rocky, the Grammy nominated hip-hop artist, was found not guilty on Tuesday of shooting a former collaborator. The jury deliberated for nearly three hours in a case that threatened to derail his career.

Rocky, 36, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, faced two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, stemming from an altercation with his one-time friend, Terell Ephron, known as ASAP Relli, near a Hollywood hotel in 2021.

“Thank y’all for saving my life,” he told jurors after the verdict was read.

The trial hinged on jurors’ assessment of the gun used in the incident, which prosecutors said was a semiautomatic firearm and witnesses for the defense testified was instead a prop gun acquired at the filming of a music video. No gun was presented as evidence in the trial and Rocky did not take the stand in his defense.

Rocky faced trial at a time when he had several notable projects in the works. He is scheduled to be one of the headliners of the Los Angeles stop of the Rolling Loud festival in March, and was announced as one of the celebrity chairs for the Met Gala, to be held in May. He was also cast to star alongside Denzel Washington in a Spike Lee-directed movie scheduled to open in summer.

Before the trial, Rocky turned down a plea offer of a six-month jail term with a seven-year suspended sentence and three years of probation. He faced up to 24 years in prison if convicted of both counts.

John Lewin, a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, had asked the jury not to be swayed by the court appearances of Rihanna, the singer, actress and businesswoman who is Rocky’s longtime partner. She was a frequent presence during the 13-day trial and attended the start of closing arguments last week with the pair’s two young sons.