A$AP As jury selection for Rocky’s trial started on Tuesday, he rejected the prosecution’s last plea deal, which offered 180 days in prison, putting him at risk of a guilty conviction and years behind bars.
The 36-year-old actor, fashion designer, and hip-hop artist was given a plea deal that included a guilty plea to one of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic pistol. Prosecutors in Los Angeles County would also suggest a six-month jail sentence, three years of probation, and a seven-year suspended sentence.
However, Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, informed a judge that he politely refused.
He faces a maximum term of 24 years in jail if found guilty of firing at a former buddy in 2021 close to a hotel in Hollywood. He entered a not guilty plea.
For the first time in court on Tuesday, Rocky’s lawyer Joe Tacopina disclosed that the defense will summon witnesses to attest that a gun shown on security footage is a starter pistol that Rocky carried as a security prop.
Over a hundred potential jurors had gathered in the gallery of the courtroom in downtown Los Angeles. After twelve of them and the alternates are seated, the opening remarks will begin. That won’t happen until selection resumes on Wednesday at the latest. Beginning with the openings, cameras will be permitted in the courtroom.
Rihanna has been a longstanding companion of the Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist, and the two of them have two small sons together. According to Tacopina, the pop artist is unlikely to appear in court.
In addition to becoming one of the celebrity chairs at the May Met Gala, Rocky will play a significant part in a Spike Lee-directed movie starring Denzel Washington that will be released shortly after. But a conviction might change his life.
Judge Mark Arnold of the Superior Court has stated that he is strictly limiting the amount of time that lawyers can interrogate potential jurors in order to seat a jury as soon as possible.
The potential jurors were informed by Arnold that Mr. Mayers was an entertainer. A$AP Rocky is his stage name. His significant other is an entertainer as well. Rihanna is her name. Because Mr. Mayers is a star and an entertainer, it cannot hurt or help him.
Ten of the original twelve jurors who were questioned claimed to know who Rihanna was, and four claimed to know who Rocky was.
After a preliminary hearing in 2023, a different judge decided that Rocky should go to trial for allegedly shooting Terell Ephron, a boyhood friend who claimed that their friendship had soured and that a conflict had reached a climax on the evening of November 6, 2021. Bullets grazed his knuckles, Ephron testified.
The recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area have impacted the lives of many possible jurors, including one woman who is fostering numerous displaced animals and at least one guy who had to evacuate, according to the preliminary questions on Tuesday. The judge himself disclosed that he was forced to leave his house for eleven days.
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“Luckily the house didn’t burn down,” Arnold stated.
One man claimed that his anti-gun sentiments were too strong for him to be fair, so he was excused early in the process.
Tacopina made an effort to find out how the prospective jurors felt about hip-hop artists and their music, and a few of them admitted to having unfavorable but manageable opinions. Parenting was mentioned by several as the cause.
One panelist remarked, “I used to love it but then I had a kid.”
“You will not be called upon to render a verdict on how you feel about rap music, do you understand that?” asked Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, who was questioning on behalf of the prosecution, those who had negative views. Everyone said “yes.”
“When I get up here with this ridiculous accent, which I try not to have but I do, is anyone going to have a problem?” he stated. “I will point out that we gave you guys the Dodgers a few years ago.”
Nobody acknowledged any bad sentiments.
The lawyer went on, “I love LA.”
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