Despite the fact the A$AP Rocky trial is winding down to its conclusion, the temperature in court was ratcheted up multiple degrees during closing arguments.
It appeared that the prosecutor and defense attorney in the A$AP Rocky shooting trial were ready to squabble in court due to the accusation that the prosecution’s star witness, A$AP Relli, perjured himself on the stand.
The prosecution and A$AP Rocky’s defense attorney scream in court
A$AP Rocky’s defense attorney, Joe Tacopina, also accused the prosecutor of being unethical. The prosecutor clapped back at high decibels, warning Tacopina that he “might want to stop.” At that juncture, the judge told everyone to take a break.
A$AP Rocky’s attorney says the gun in question is fake
The basis of the defense is that it was a fake gun that Rocky was holding when he and A$AP Relli had a verbal altercation in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles in 2021.
“Despite his ability to do so legally, he didn’t want to carry a real gun for fear that he would either injure someone or himself,” Rocky’s lawyer Tacopina explained earlier in the trial.
Media outlets state that A$AP Rocky’s freedom may depend on if they believe that the rapper was holding a prop gun or a real one and ultimately fired shots at his former friend, A$AP Relli.
What’s at stake for A$AP Rocky
The jury is expected to begin deliberations either on Friday or Tuesday — court is in recess on Monday for Presidents Day. Rocky is facing two counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon for allegedly shooting at A$AP Relli in a 2021 altercation. He could face up to 24 years in prison, or be hit with a misdemeanor conviction with less than a year in jail, or be completely exonerated in the case.
Relli testified that his life and career nosedived after the incident. “Death threats, people labeling me a snitch for telling what happened,” he alleged in court last month, according to Law & Crime Trials. “My social media, everything I’m doing for artists social media, I don’t have a presence there no more.”
A$AP Rocky was visited in court frequently by girlfriend Rihanna
Meanwhile, A$AP Rocky’s longtime girlfriend Rihanna appeared in court with their two sons, RZA and Riot Rose Mayers. The singer told her sons to “wish daddy good luck” during a court break, and Rocky leaned in to give them a kiss.
