Los Angeles: A judge ruled on Monday that A$ AP Rocky has sufficient proof to stand trial for the 2021 shooting death of a former friend and partner in the streets of an American hotel.
After hearing about one and a half days ‘ worth of evidence from two witnesses, Superior Court Judge M. L. Villar made the decision at opportunistic hearings. Rocky has entered not guilty pleas to two misdemeanor counts of assault with a automatic weapons. Rocky did not appear to respond to the ruling.
The 35-year-old singer, fashion tycoon, and two-time Grammy nominee has two young children with Rihanna.
If found guilty of all costs, he may spend up to 24 years in prison, according to the prosecution.
According to Villar,” the entirety of the picture and testimony” demonstrates that there is enough proof for the defendant to stand trial. She emphasized that compared to a trial, initial hearings have significantly lower standards for evidence.
Outside of court, Rocky’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said,” We’re certainly disappointed, not surprised, we expected to go to trial, and we’ve been planning for test all along.” When all is said and done, Rocky is going to be vindicated, without a doubt.
Terell Ephron testified that he and Rocky, a childhood friend, had belonged to the same group of musicians and artists at their New York high school on the first day of the reading, which was resumed on Monday after much pause.
He claimed that their marriage had begun to deteriorate, which led to the Hollywood conflict on November 6, 2021, in which Rocky allegedly pulled a gun on him and then fired shots that touched Ephron’s knuckles.
Before passing judgment, Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec told the judge,” You need nothing more than Mr. Ephron’s testimony by itself.” He also said that the surveillance video that captured some of the incident” corroborates exactly what Mr.”
There are some serious issues with the complainant’s testimony, Tacopina retorted, adding,” I believe there is n’t enough evidence.”
A pair of 9 mm shell casings that were in police custody were recovered by Ephron, who returned to the scene about an hour after the conflict, according to Tacopina’s information during questioning of a police detective earlier on Monday. Seven officers who searched the street and road about 20 minutes after it was alleged that the shots were fired also found no evidence of the shooting.
Tacopina watched the officers ‘ body camera footage as they spent about ten minutes searching the area. Ephron turned over the barrel casings, which the inspector claimed had no recoverable prints on them, after first reporting the incident to the police two days later.
A video was recorded by the prosecution from a location close to the scene where no one is immediately visible but what appears to be two gunshots can be heard. A man next sprints around a spot before slowing down to walk. Although the boy’s identification is not made clear in the movie, LAPD Detective Frank Flores testified that they have determined that Rocky is who he claims to be.
When Rocky was the subject of a search warrant, Flores testified that no 9 mm handgun was found.
Prosecutors displayed a still from surveillance footage that showed two images: one from the same videos showing the face of the man in the hoodie, with no weapon apparent, and the other showing his mouth. The man’s experience is not noticeable and is holding what appears to be an object. Torres testified that the pictures convinced them it was Rocky.
Tacopina, who is also defending Donald Trump in his legal case in New York, pressed the policeman on the tool and claimed that there was no way for police to determine whether it was a filled or even real gun.
You do realize that the cannon, or whatever it was, was n’t tested? Tacopina enquired. Torres remarked,” No, it was never recovered.
You’re never sure if it’s an functional gun or a non-operable weapons, or whatever, Tacopina enquired.
The detective retorted,” I ca n’t tell you if it’s operable without having it.
Tacopina questioned why Ephron waited until he got back to New York to get medical help in an effort to cast doubt on the minor injuries to his side.
He bitterly remarked,” It’s a wonder he survived that shooting,” after showing the policeman the picture of the scraped fingertips.
The prosecutor reprimanded him and instructed Tacopina to tone down several times.
Rocky was detained in the case in April and charged in August at the Los Angeles International Airport. After spending the weekend at the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix vehicle race, where he played a significant role as Puma’s artistic director in the apparel company ‘ collaboration with F1, He arrived in court on Monday night dressed in an all-black coat, glasses, and face helmet.
He has n’t released much music in recent years, but he is better known for being Rihanna’s romantic partner, fellow fashion influencer, and co-parent. In May, they had a second son together. His earliest two theater songs, released in 2013 and 2015, both placed at the top. 1 on the 200-foot Billboard.
When questioned outside of court about whether Rocky may invite Rihanna, who was absent from the preliminary sessions, to his trial, Tacopina said,” He would not subject his family; he wants to protect them. He handles it like Rocky handles things.
Rocky even turned into an unlikely cause for then-President Donald Trump, who claimed he was attempting to free the rapper and have him come back to the United States after a fight in Sweden in 2019. At trial, he was found guilty of assault, but was given a” provisional word” that prevented him from serving any more time in prison.