A$AP Rocky's Trial Delayed to January Amid Allegations of Gun Violence Against Former Friend A$AP Relli
During a hearing on Tuesday, October 22, in Los Angeles, A$AP Rocky's trial was moved from November to January 21. His lawyer, Joe Tacopina, explained that the change was made because of a scheduling conflict with Rocky's performance at Rolling Loud Thailand 2024.
Tacopina told reporters outside the courtroom that the trial was rescheduled partly because Rocky has a benefit concert in Bangkok at the end of November and partly because there are still some discovery issues to resolve. He added that everyone agreed it would be better to have the trial in January, considering the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. He emphasized that January 21 is a confirmed date.
He said about the judge's decision, "If the judge had said no, Rocky would be here on November 12, and so would I. But the judge was very understanding."
Tuesday's hearing follows the rapper's not-guilty plea in January for allegedly firing a semi-automatic handgun at Relli. In November of last year, a judge decided there was enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
After the arraignment, Tacopina told reporters that Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was "calm and relaxed."
He also mentioned that Rocky, 36, who has two sons, RZA, 2, and Riot Rose, 14 months, with pop star Rihanna, is looking forward to finishing the trial so he can start enjoying time with his family.
During the November hearing, Detective Frank Flores testified, and new surveillance video was shown, along with footage from an earlier hearing that month. In the new video, two loud pops were heard, which the prosecution said were from the alleged shooting, but nothing was seen.
Flores confirmed that he reviewed the footage as part of his investigation and said that Rocky had a gun in his hand during the incident. However, during cross-examination, he admitted that the gun was never found. Additionally, the two shell casings recovered from the scene by Relli, whose real name is Terell Ephron, were turned in to the police two days later but had no fingerprints on them.
At the earlier hearing, a photo of Relli's minor injuries was shown in the courtroom. It displayed small areas of raw, bloody skin on the knuckles of his left hand's index, middle, and ring fingers.
Legal documents obtained by PEOPLE show that Relli filed a civil suit against Rocky for assault, battery, and emotional distress on August 10, 2022. Rocky has denied all the claims.
In response to the civil complaint, Rocky's attorneys stated, "The defendant denies all the allegations in the complaint and specifically denies that the plaintiff has suffered any damages because of anything the defendant did or didn't do. Any injuries or damages mentioned in the complaint were caused only by the careless or intentional actions of someone other than the defendant."
Relli, a former member of the hip-hop group A$AP Mob, claimed that he was hit by bullet fragments after the argument and stated in court that he went to a hospital in New York City for medical treatment. The two men were childhood friends and attended high school together in New York.
"We used to get along really well and were always relaxed together," Relli remembered while testifying. He then mentioned that tension began to grow when Rocky achieved solo success and became "big-headed."
After their friend and fellow A$AP Mob member A$AP Josh died in October 2021, Relli testified that his mother asked for financial help to bring his body back to New York, and Rocky promised to help financially in a group text. Although Tacopina claimed that Rocky paid the full amount, Relli told the court that he did not believe this was true at the time.
A month later, just days before Rocky was set to headline ComplexCon, Relli said he overheard Rocky talking badly about him on speakerphone to another friend, which led him to end their friendship. "Honestly, it felt good. I was mentally getting ready to leave because I didn't want that kind of stigma or those types of people in my life. [Rocky] was never going to help," Relli said.
He told the court that he later saw Rocky with his two friends, Illijah Ulanga (A$AP Illz) and Jamil Phillips (A$AP Twelvyy), in front of a parking garage on Hollywood Boulevard. The surveillance video shown in the courtroom seemed to show Rocky walking up to Relli and pushing him.
The surveillance footage, which had no sound, then showed the group of men getting into a fight at the corner of Selma Avenue and Vista Del Mar Avenue in Hollywood.
"Rocky turned around and shot at me," Relli claimed in November, saying he was about 16 feet away. "It all looked like a movie." He went on to testify that Rocky fired "three or four" more shots at him, and he used A$AP Illz as a human shield.
The video showed one member of the group running away while the other two men fled on foot after the gun was reportedly fired. About an hour later, Relli testified that he returned to the scene to pick up two 9mm shell casings from the incident. During cross-examination, Relli admitted that he didn’t call 911 until two days later because he wanted to hire a lawyer first.
Rocky was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on April 20, 2022, and was released on bail the same day, according to the Los Angeles Times. He was returning on a private plane from Barbados, where he had been on vacation with Rihanna just a few weeks before the birth of their first son, RZA. He was later released after paying a $550,000 bond, as reported by the outlet.
Relli's lawyers stated in the civil complaint that Rocky's actions were "extreme and outrageous" and caused Relli to experience "severe emotional distress." Relli is suing for over $25,000 in general damages, extra money to cover his medical bills, and unspecified punitive damages in civil court.