A$AP Rocky cleared of assault charges, shares emotional moment with Rihanna

DH Web Desk

Rapper A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was found not guilty of two counts of felony assault at the conclusion of a trial in Los Angeles on February 19.

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Credit: Reuters

The musician, who has two children with singer Rihanna, would have faced more than two decades in prison if he had been convicted of the alleged attack on a former friend in Hollywood in 2021.

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Credit: Reuters

There was commotion in the courtroom as the jury's verdict was read out, with the Grammy-nominated hip-hop star hugging people in relief as he was declared not guilty.

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Credit: Reuters

Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, reacts in court as the verdict is given in his felony assault trial at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California.

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Credit: Reuters

Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, embraces attorney Joe Tacopina in court as the verdict is given in his felony assault trial at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California.

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Credit: Reuters

Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, reacts in court as the verdict is given in his felony assault trial at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California.

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Credit: Reuters

During the weeks-long trial, prosecutors said Mayers had shot a nine-millimeter semi-automatic weapon during a confrontation with Terell Ephron, also known as A$AP Relli, on November 6, 2021, in the heart of Hollywood, grazing Ephron's hand.

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Credit: Reuters

Mayers had insisted he had been carrying only a harmless prop gun.

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Credit: Reuters

The two had previously been friends and had both been part of A$AP, a rap collective from New York, but had fallen out because other members of the group felt Mayers' commercial success had made him arrogant.

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Credit: Reuters