Rapper A$AP Rocky Appears In La Court On Gun Charges

American rapper A$AP Rocky made an appearance in court today to hear fellow rapper and erstwhile comrade A$AP Relli recount how the celebrity almost murdered him during a barrage of gunshots.

In August of last year, Rapper Rocky—real name Rakim Mayers—pleaded not guilty to two assault counts involving a semiautomatic handgun that were related to the incident that occurred in 2021.

If found guilty on two felony charges of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, he could spend up to eight years in prison.

The A$AP Mob member Terell Ephron testified in court that Mayers, 35, threatened to murder him before firing at least four rounds on November 6, 2021, according to the Harlem-born hip hop artist.

At the preliminary hearing, Ephron described how their friendship soured as Mayers’s career took off and other members of the group were left behind.

Mayers summoned him to a meeting at a hotel in Los Angeles the night of the shooting, when they quarreled until Mayers drew a gun on him, according to TMZ.

Ephron remembered him screaming, “I’ll kill you right now,” as Mayers put a gun to his stomach and then started firing as he was leaving the room.

A single bullet struck him in the hand, but it took until the next day for Ephron to find the strength to report the incident, and as a result, the rapper’s arrest warrant was issued.

Police were also observed outside his Los Angeles residence, using a battering ram to break through the gate before it appeared like they were conducting a raid. Several evidence boxes were taken from the home by detectives.

Four months after his arrest, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon determined that the charges warranted felony status instead of misdemeanor status, which would have only carried a potential one-year jail sentence 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 Mayers’ run-in with the law is not limited to the alleged attack on Ephron.

In 2019, a brawl between the rapper’s group and two individuals on the street resulted in the rapper’s arrest in Sweden.

After being found guilty of assault, Mayers received a suspended prison sentence and had to pay damages of more than $1,000. Before his punishment was given, he allegedly spent a month in jail.

The artist, who was raised in the Harlem district of New York City, was also accused of trying to kill someone when she was sixteen years old.

Mayers was allegedly bullied by an older man when he first began selling drugs. He confronted the accused bully at his home and ultimately pulled a gun on 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.