Photo Credit:Damian Dovarganes / AP
The trial of rapper A$AP Rocky took a tense turn as his former friend and accuser, Relli, testified in a Los Angeles courtroom. Relli, whose legal name is Terell Ephron, alleges that Rocky, fired a gun at him during a 2021 altercation. Despite inconsistencies in his paststatements, Relli remained firm on the core allegation. “A gun was pulled on me. It was pointed at me and fired later,” he testified.
Rocky, facing two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic handgun, remained silent in court, dressed in a black suit. A conviction could mean up to 25 years in prison. His partner, global music icon Rihanna, was in attendance for the second consecutive day, sitting alongside his mother and sister.
During cross-examination, Rocky’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, confronted Relli with past statements where he claimed the gun was pressed against his stomach, contradicting his latest testimony that it had never made contact. Relli, appearing frustrated, at one point broke courtroom decorum by shouting at Rocky, “You did this to yourself!” The judge, Mark Arnold, immediately reprimanded him, warning, “Do not talk to the defendant!”
Tacopina also presented text messages and social media posts to challenge Relli’s claim of having no animosity toward Rocky before the shooting. Messages showed Relli expressing anger over Rocky allegedly failing to support one of his projects and threatening to “beat him up” if he didn’t cover the costs of repatriating a deceased mutual friend’s body. When questioned about deleting text exchanges before submitting his phone to authorities, Relli claimed he did not recall why.
The trial also focused on whether the weapon used was real. Rocky's defense insists he fired a starter pistol loaded with blanks, something they claim Relli was aware of. However, Relli maintained otherwise, stating, “Oh, it was a real gun,” adding that his scraped hand proved it. Following the incident, Relli said he retrieved two shell casings from the scene and later texted Rocky, “U try killing me.” Rocky denied the allegation, responding, “Bro wtf is u talkin bout why u tell ppl I shot at u.”
Rocky, facing two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic handgun, remained silent in court, dressed in a black suit. A conviction could mean up to 25 years in prison. His partner, global music icon Rihanna, was in attendance for the second consecutive day, sitting alongside his mother and sister.
During cross-examination, Rocky’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, confronted Relli with past statements where he claimed the gun was pressed against his stomach, contradicting his latest testimony that it had never made contact. Relli, appearing frustrated, at one point broke courtroom decorum by shouting at Rocky, “You did this to yourself!” The judge, Mark Arnold, immediately reprimanded him, warning, “Do not talk to the defendant!”
Tacopina also presented text messages and social media posts to challenge Relli’s claim of having no animosity toward Rocky before the shooting. Messages showed Relli expressing anger over Rocky allegedly failing to support one of his projects and threatening to “beat him up” if he didn’t cover the costs of repatriating a deceased mutual friend’s body. When questioned about deleting text exchanges before submitting his phone to authorities, Relli claimed he did not recall why.
The trial also focused on whether the weapon used was real. Rocky's defense insists he fired a starter pistol loaded with blanks, something they claim Relli was aware of. However, Relli maintained otherwise, stating, “Oh, it was a real gun,” adding that his scraped hand proved it. Following the incident, Relli said he retrieved two shell casings from the scene and later texted Rocky, “U try killing me.” Rocky denied the allegation, responding, “Bro wtf is u talkin bout why u tell ppl I shot at u.”
