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A$AP Rocky, an American rapper, appeared in court today to hear former buddy and fellow rapper A$AP Relli tell how the star almost murdered him in a hail of gunshots.
Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a semiautomatic handgun coming from the 2021 incident in August of last year.
If convicted of two felony counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, he faces up to eight years in prison.
Terell Ephron, another A$AP Mob member, told the court that Mayers, 35, threatened to murder him before firing at least four shots at him on November 6, 2021.
Ephron described how their connection deteriorated as Mayers’ career took off and others in the group were left behind at the preliminary hearing.
Mayers summoned him to a meeting at a LA hotel the night of the incident, when they argued before Mayers drew a gun on him, according to TMZ.
‘I’ll kill you right now,’ Ephron recalled him yelling as Mayers held a gun to his stomach, before firing a series of shots as he left the room.
One shot injured him in the hand, but it took Ephron till the next day to collect the guts to report the shooting, and a warrant was issued for the rapper’s arrest.
Officers were also seen outside his Los Angeles house, banging a battering ram into the gate before reportedly invading the residence. Multiple boxes of evidence were taken from the house by detectives.
It took four months after his arrest for LA DA George Gascon to decide that the charges were serious enough to pursue felony classification rather than misdemeanor status, which would have resulted in a maximum of one year in jail for each count.
‘Discharging a gun in a public place is a serious offense that could have ended with tragic consequences not only for the person targeted but also for innocent bystanders visiting Hollywood,’ said Gascon after announcing the charges.
‘My office conducted a thorough review not the evidence in this case and determined that the addition of a special firearm allegation was warranted.’
But the alleged attack on Ephron is not Mayers’ first run-in with the law.
In 2019, the rapper was arrested in Sweden after a confrontation on the street between his entourage and two individuals.
Mayers was found guilty of assault, given a suspended prison sentence, and ordered to pay more than $1,000 in restitution. He was reportedly imprisoned for a month before his punishment was handed down.
At the age of 16, the performer, who grew up in New York City’s Harlem area, was also charged with attempted murder.
An older man allegedly bullied Mayers, who began peddling drugs in his adolescence. He went to confront the accused bully and ended up firing a gun at him.
‘He tried to come at me in front of some ladies. And I was little. He was a little bit older than me,’ Mayers said two years ago, detailing the incident on Untold Stories of Hip-Hop.
