In November of 2021, A$AP Rocky fired a gun twice in the direction of a former friend, Terrell Ephron. Terrel Ephron, also known as A$AP Relli, presented surveillance videos to the jurors that showed this event occurring.
At the beginning of the opening statements, Deputy District Attorney Paul Przlomiec stated, “What will become instantly clear is that this is not a complicated case.” As the case unfolds, more information that contradicts A$AP Rellis’ claims comes to light. Terell Ephron, or A$AP Relli, did not testify to prove his claims. Relli claims that Rocky and he were “beefing” and decided to meet at nearby a hotel. This quickly escalated when Rocky pulled out a gun.
A$AP Rocky is pleading not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. Rocky’s attorney claimed that the gun fired was a starter gun that only contained blanks. Rocky’s attorney also brings up the point that Relli did not have any gunshot wounds. His attorney stated that A$AP Relli is motivated by “Jealousy, lies, and greed.” His attorney also says that Relli was aware the gun was a prop, as he used to be close friends with Rocky. His attorney brings up text messages that were exchanged between Relli and Rocky. Relli states, “U try killing me” and Rocky then replies, “wtf iz ut talking about.” His attorney finished by showing another text message that Relli sent to a friend after the incident saying that he was going to get Rocky’s money and claim that Rocky shot at him.
Seven officers searched the area and never found any shell casings or weapons.
Relli went to the police two days after the incident and showed them a pair of 9 mm shell casings that he claimed to have picked up from the area himself. Police Sergeant Thomas Zizzo testified that he and other officers reported to the scene and searched “every inch” of the area for evidence. He stated, “We may have missed something,” completing his testimony.
Rocky was observing while sitting in the courtroom in a gray suit. His mother and sister were also present to support him. Rihanna and Rocky’s two young sons were not in court.
