Rapper A$AP Rocky, Rihanna’s partner and father of her two children, will be tried in Los Angeles on two counts of assault with a semi-automatic weapon, BTA reported, citing information from Reuters and AFP.
Rakim Meyers, as his real name is, is accused of pointing a gun at co-star Terrell Efron during an argument, then firing twice in a second confrontation. Both incidents are from Nov. 6, 2021. According to prosecutors, Efron had minor injuries.
Meyers was arrested in connection with the altercation five months later, in April 2022, when he arrived at the LA airport on a flight from Barbados.
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He was indicted in August of that year. A Los Angeles judge has now ruled that prosecutors have enough evidence to go to trial on both assault charges, including that he used a personal firearm during the incidents in question.
The Harlem-born musician, who remains free on bond, has pleaded not guilty in the case. His attorney, Joe Tacopina, said in court that prosecutors did not present enough evidence of the shooting and relied on various security camera videos and witness statements that were not conclusive. The defense also questioned the credibility of Efron’s testimony that he said his left hand was scratched during the shooting.
Efron, who performed under the stage name A$AP Relli in a trap collective he and Rocky were once part of, has also filed a civil suit against his former colleague.
A$AP Rocky’s first and second studio albums, “Long.Live.A$AP” and “Long.Last.A$AP,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2013 and 2015, respectively. His third album, “Testing”, released in 2018, peaked at number five.
