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Rocky, 35, whose given name is Rakim Mayers, is accused of
pointing a handgun at another hip-hop artist and former friend,
Terell Ephron, during a heated argument, then firing twice in
Ephron's direction during a second confrontation. Both
encounters occurred on Nov. 6, 2021.
Prosecutors alleged that Ephron suffered a minor injury in the
shooting.
Rocky was arrested in connection with the altercation five
months later, in April 2022, as he arrived at Los Angeles
International Airport on a flight from Barbados. He was charged
in August of that year.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar ruled on Monday
that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to proceed to trial on
both counts of assault, including allegations that Rocky had
personally used a firearm during the incidents in question,
according to a spokesperson for the District Attorney's Office.
The Harlem-born musician, who remains free on bond, has pleaded
not guilty in the case.
His lawyer, Joe Tacopina, argued in court that prosecutors
failed to present sufficient proof that a shooting had even
occurred, relying on various surveillance videos and testimony
that the defense said were inconclusive, the Los Angeles City
News Service (CNS) reported in its account of the proceedings.
The defense also questioned the veracity of Ephron's testimony
that he believed his left hand had been grazed in the gunfire,
CNS reported.
Ephron, who has performed under the stage name as A$AP Relli as
part of a hip-hop collective that once included both men, has
also filed a civil lawsuit against Rocky, according to CNS.
Since Rocky's arrest in April of 2022, Rihanna, a native of
Barbados, has given birth to two sons fathered by him.
His first and second studio albums, "Long. Live. A$AP," and "At.Long.Last.A$AP,"
both debuted at No. 1 in the Billboard 200 pop charts in 2013
and 2015, respectively. His third album, "Testing," released in
2018, peaked in the top five.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Edwina
Gibbs)
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