A$AP Rocky fired blank shots from a prop gun in order to protect his friend, his lawyer has said on the first day of his trial.
The US rapper is accused of firing a gun at Terell Ephron, a former childhood friend who testified their relationship had soured and a feud allegedly came to a head on the night of 6 November 2021.
Jurors were shown surveillance videos a prosecutor argued made it clear Rocky fired a gun at Ephron outside a parking garage in Hollywood.
But Rocky’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, said in the defence opening statement the video evidence is meaningless without the testimony of the accuser, Ephron, who he argued is driven by “jealousy, lies and greed”. He said: “This case rises or falls on his credibility.”
He said the gun was actually a “starter pistol” that only shot blanks which Rocky carried for protection, something he argued Ephron knew.
The first video shown by the prosecution showed a physical struggle between two men, with two others intervening, when one of them – wearing a black hoodie – pulls out a gun and points it, but does not fire.
“The evidence in this case will show that the man in the black sweatshirt is the defendant, Rakim Mayers,” said Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec, using Rocky’s legal name. “That evidence will be uncontradicted.”
Rocky has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
Mr Przelomiec told the jurors the four men in the video had all been members of the A$AP Collective and were old friends.
Ephron will testify he had been in a disagreement with Rocky and believed when they met up they would argue but reconcile, the prosecutor said.
Image: Arriving at the court
The situation changed when Rocky pulled out a gun, but Ephron still pursued him as he walked away, Mr Przelomiec said, adding: “In his state of mind he never believed he was going to be shot.”
The defence lawyer argued Ephron was not scared because he “knew that gun wasn’t real”.
Scraped knuckles
Mr Przelomiec showed jurors a photo of bloody scrapes on Ephron’s knuckles which he said may have come from the shooting, but were irrelevant to the charges.
Mr Tacopina argued Ephron had actually been the aggressor and Rocky had fired blank shots from his prop gun to stop him from attacking one of their A$AP crew members who was with him, which was why Ephron scraped his knuckles.
He also said seven officers who searched the scene found neither shell casings nor a weapon.
Rapper turned down prosecution plea offer
The trial comes after the rapper turned down a final prosecution plea offer – to plead guilty to one of his two felony counts and serve 180 days in prison.
It means he faces a potential maximum jail sentence of 24 years if he is found guilty by jurors.
The trial is set to last about three weeks.
Rocky, a Grammy-nominated star, is in a relationship with Rihanna, and the couple have two toddler sons. The Umbrella singer was not in court.
Rocky has been named as one of the celebrity chairmen of this year’s Met Gala in May and has a major role in a Spike Lee-directed film with Denzel Washington to be released soon after.
Oasis have said they are “shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan” at their Wembley Stadium concert on Saturday.
Together with their bandmates, Liam and Noel Gallagher have offered their “sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved”.
Metropolitan Police said officers on duty at the stadium responded, alongside venue medics and the London Ambulance Service, to reports a person had been injured at around 10.20pm.
The statement continued: “A man – aged in his 40s – was found with injuries consistent with a fall. He was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.”
According to media reports, the man fell from the stadium’s upper tier.
A concertgoer on social media said they saw the incident and described it as “horrific”.
Image: Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage at their first reunion gig. Pic: AP
Metropolitan Police said: “The stadium was busy, and we believe it is likely a number of people witnessed the incident, or may knowingly or unknowingly have caught it on mobile phone video footage.
“If you have any information that could help us to confirm what happened, please call 101.”
Oasis performed at the venue as planned on Sunday night, delivering the final concert of a five-night run at Wembley.
Addressing fans at the stadium, singer Liam said: “This one’s for all the people who can’t be here tonight, but who are here if you know what I mean, and aren’t they looking lovely. Live Forever.”
Oasis support act Richard Ashcroft paid tribute on Instagram, writing: “I was shocked to hear of the death of one of the audience last night sending my love to the family and friends.”
A spokesperson for Wembley Stadium said: “Our thoughts go out to his family, who have been informed and are being supported by specially trained police officers.”
They will then head to Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the United States, before returning to Wembley for two more dates in September.
The reunion tour began at the start of July and marks the Gallagher brothers’ first performances together since Oasis split acrimoniously in 2009.
Soulja Boy has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm during a traffic stop.
The rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was a passenger in the car that was stopped in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles early on Sunday morning, the LAPD said.
“A passenger was detained and police arrested DeAndre Cortez Way for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm,” the statement added.
Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon is a felony.
The 35-year-old was booked into jail in the LAPD’s Wilshire Division shortly after 6am. It is not clear if he has since been released.
Police did not provide information on what prompted the traffic stop and who else was in the vehicle with Way.
Soulja Boy is yet to publicly comment on the incident.
Soulja Boy is best known for his 2007 hit Crank That, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and landed him a nomination for best rap song at the Grammys.
The rapper was arrested and charged with a felony in 2014 for carrying a loaded gun during a traffic stop in LA.
In April this year, the Chicago hip-hop artist was ordered to pay more than $4m (£3m) in damages to his former assistant after being found liable for sexually assault, as well as physically and emotionally abusing them.
The BBC has responded after it was reported that two Strictly Come Dancing stars have been accused of taking cocaine.
The broadcaster is said to have hired an external law firm to probe the drug-taking allegations, which a source said were “well-known” on the show, The Sun on Sunday reports.
The claims were reportedly made on behalf of celebrity contestant Wynne Evans in a legal submission to the BBC in March.
In response, a BBC spokesperson told Sky News: “We have clear protocols and policies in place for dealing with any serious complaint raised with us. We would always encourage people to speak to us if they have concerns.
“It would not be appropriate for us to comment further.”
Sky News understands that it is not unusual for the BBC to engage an external individual to provide additional expert resource to help deliver a BBC-led investigation. In these cases, they would report to an established BBC team.
Image: PA file pic
The allegations published in The Sun on Sunday include a source saying that one Strictly star had told another about a third celebrity on the show: “Have you seen their pupils… they’re off their face.”
More on Bbc
Related Topics:
“The BBC have known about these allegations for some time, and acknowledged receiving them. Now they are taking firm action,” the source reportedly said.
The two individuals accused of drug taking have not been named.
It is the latest crisis to hit the BBC and Strictly.
In July last year, Amanda Abbington accused Strictly dancer Giovanni Pernice of “abusive or threatening behaviour”. The actress, who was paired with Pernice, withdrew from the show in 2023.
In January this year, Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans made “inappropriate and unacceptable” comments at the Strictly Come Dancing live tour launch, for which he later apologised.