A$AP Rocky jumped into Rihanna’s arms after his verdict

The American rapper A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was acquitted on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, by a Los Angeles court of two criminal charges of assault with a semi-automatic weapon. This verdict concludes a three-week trial that could have resulted in a prison sentence exceeding 20 years.

At the moment the clerk announced the not-guilty verdict, A$AP Rocky rushed into the arms of his partner Rihanna, who was attending the hearing alongside the rapper’s mother and sister. The courtroom, filled with fans and loved ones, erupted in cheers.

The jury took only three hours to deliberate in reaching this verdict, thus sparing the rapper a potentially heavy sentence. “Thank you all for saving my life,” he told the jurors before their departure.

The charges stemmed from an altercation that occurred in November 2021 in Hollywood between A$AP Rocky and Terell Ephron, aka A$AP Relli, a former member of the A$AP Mob collective. The prosecution claimed that Rocky fired a semi-automatic weapon, slightly injuring Ephron’s hand. The defense, on the other hand, argued that the weapon used was a replica gun firing blank rounds, employed as a deterrent during an attack against another group member.

No material evidence could confirm the existence of a real weapon. Rocky’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, labeled Ephron a “pathological liar” and claimed that he was trying to extort his client.

On the eve of the trial, A$AP Rocky had rejected an offer from the prosecutor that proposed six months in prison in exchange for a guilty plea.

Prosecutor Nathan Hochman reacted to the verdict by stating:

“Our office remains committed to ensuring that individuals who break the law are held accountable, regardless of their status or influence. Celebrity does not place anyone above the law, and we will not waver in our pursuit of justice for the victims and the community.”

Now freed from legal threats, he can focus on his artistic and family projects with Rihanna and their two young children.

This content was created with the help of AI.