Rapper A$AP Rocky has been proven not guilty of shooting a high school friend. The rapper could have had to spend 24 years in prison if he was found guilty. A$AP Rocky denied all the charges since the start while claiming that his former friend was only looking for a paycheck out of the situation.
Rakim Mayers also known as A$AP Rocky was accused of firing multiple shots at a former friend during an altercation. Terell Ephron who made the accusation noted that the fight took place on a Hollywood street on November 6, 2021.
According to the claims made by Ephron, one of the bullets grazed his knuckle and injured it. Ephron also claimed that during the heated argument, the rapper pointed a gun at his head and stomach to threaten him. Mayers’ legal team were defending him against two felony assault charges.
The three-week trial came to an end after the Los Angeles jury found the rapper not guilty of all the charges. Mayers celebrated the verdict by hugging his long-time partner Rihanna, his mother and sister.
The rapper seemed highly emotional and had tears in his eyes as the verdict was being read. “Thank God for saving my life,” he said and thanked the jury on the case after.
Mayers and Ephron have been friends since high school. The two attended the same institution in New York and were a part of the A$AP Mob hip-hop collective.
According to Ephron’s account of the incidents, Mayers allegedly threatened to “kill” him. The rapper allegedly took out a gun from his waistband and pointed it at his friend while saying, “I’ll kill you right now.”
“He looked me in my eyes and pointed the gun at me,” Ephron said in his testimony. Ephron also shared that he challenged the rapper to fire at him but he simply started walking away. Ephron then followed Mayers while shouting at him, this was when the rapper allegedly fired at his friend.
A$AP Rocky’s attorney Joe Tacopina labelled Ephron’s injuries as “knuckle scrapes.” The defence also revealed that the rapper was using a prop gun at that moment. “There’s no bullet in the world that could’ve done that,” the rapper’s lawyer noted.
Asap rocky jumps and hugs Rihanna after being found not guilty pic.twitter.com/Cg1SpkvsDx
— f⌖ (@ohfold) February 19, 2025
A friend of Mayers’ who was present at the place that night, testified in court. A$AP Twelvyy claimed that the only reason Rocky fired the shots was so Ephron wouldn’t go after another friend of theirs named A$AP Illz. While A$AP Rocky stood his ground claiming that he did not fire any shots that night.
Mayers claimed that his former friend came up with the allegations to extort money out of him. Ephron had sued the rapper for $30 million in a civil lawsuit.
