A$AP Rocky's Lawyer Claims Rapper Was Carrying a 'Prop Gun,' Kicks off Trial with Heated Court Exchange: ‘Nothing to Hide’

Mar. 15, 2025

A$AP Rocky.Photo:GENARO MOLINA/Los Angeles Times via Getty

GENARO MOLINA/Los Angeles Times via Getty

A$AP Rocky’s lawyer claims that the firearm involved in a November 2021 altercation with A$AP Relli was nothing more than a “prop gun” for the purpose of scaring off potential threats.

On Friday, Jan. 24 opening statements began for A$AP Rocky’s trial. He faces two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. A$AP Relli, who was not present in court, accused Rocky of firing a semi-automatic handgun at him in 2021.

During opening statements for the prosecution team, Deputy District Attorney Paul B. Przelomiec recounted the events leading up to the altercation. He also claimed that Relli showed up the night of the altercation thinking they would just “argue” and this would “repair their relationship.”

“This is not a complicated case,” Przelomiec said in his opening statement. “The defense will turn in an alternative explanation to what happened that night… we ask that you do not leave your common sense at the door.”

A$AP Rocky.DUTCH/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

DUTCH/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

In surveillance footage, which was shown at a prior hearing and presented once again on Friday in front of the jury, Rocky is seen holding a gun. However, Tacopina claims that it was “nothing more than a prop gun.”

“For Relli, it was never about justice… it’s about a man seeking a profit from a fabricated narrative,” Tacopina said. “Rocky has nothing to hide here.”

Friday’s hearing had a rocky start when the prosecution said they submitted new evidence on Thursday night.

After the altercation, Relli returned to the scene and retrieved two 9mm shell casings he claimed were from the gun Rocky allegedly shot, Relli testified at a previous hearing. According to the prosecution team, a new examination proved that the shell casings exhibit characteristics of a “Glock model 40 and 43,” among others.

“The markings on these casings are a bit more unique and the examiner will testify that the markings he’s seen are very rare… but align with a Glock 43,” Deputy District Attorney John Lewin said in court.

The defense team grew upset about the timing of the submission — and requested more time to have their own expert examine the evidence.

“We assured him [Rocky] yesterday that he is going to have a fair trial. I don’t know how we are supposed to do this. It changes the complexity of this case," Tacopina said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been this upset in a courtroom in my whole career. This is unfair to him.”

Judge Mark S. Arnold ultimately chose to grant the defense’s request — and offered to have the court pay for an expedited examination of the evidence. The case will pick up on Tuesday to give the defense team extra time to prepare.

On Tuesday, Rocky turned down a plea deal from prosecutors and chose a jury trial instead. If he pled guilty to one of two felony charges, Rocky would serve 180 days in jail and receive a seven-year suspended sentence with three years on probation. Now, if found guilty, Rocky faces up to 24 years in jail.

In October, the trial was pushed back from its original November date after Tacopina said it was due to a scheduling conflict with the artist’s show at Rolling Loud Thailand 2024.

Meanwhile, in January 2024, Rocky entered a non-guilty plea aftera judge determinedthere was enough evidence to stand trial for the allegations in November 2023.

After the arraignment, Tacopina told reporters Rocky (born Rakim Mayers) was"cool as a cucumber.“He also said Rocky — who shares two sons,RZA, 2, andRiot Rose, 17 months, with pop superstarRihanna— was ready to get the trial “over with so he can start enjoying his family.”

A$AP Rocky arrives in court for his November 20, 2023 hearing.BACKGRID

BACKGRID

At the November hearing, Detective Frank Flores took the stand, and new surveillance video was unveiled where two loud pops, which the prosecution team claimed were the alleged shooting, were heard but not seen. More footage was shown in aprior hearingthat month.

Atthe previous hearing, a photo of Relli’s minor injuries was displayed in the courtroom. The photo showed small patches of raw, bloody skin on the knuckles of his index, middle and ring fingers on his left hand.

“We were really cool. We were chill all the time,” Relli said on the stand in November, before stating that tension started to build when Rocky found solo success and became “big-headed.”

Then, after their friend and 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 that Rocky promised to financially help via group text. Although Tacopina claimed Rocky did pay in full, at the time Relli didn’t believe this happened, he told the court.

A month later — and days before Rocky was headlining ComplexCon — Relli said he overheard Rocky badmouthing him on speakerphone to another friend and decided to end their friendship. Relli told the court that he later spotted 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. Surveillance video shown in the courtroom appeared to show Rocky walking toward Relli and shoving him. The surveillance footage (with no sound) then showed the group of men involved in an altercation.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’sfree True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

“Rocky turned around and shot at me,” Relli claimed in the November 2023 hearing, noting he was approximately 16 feet from him. “It all looked like a movie.” He also testified that Rocky shot “three or four” more times at Relli, who said he used A$AP Illz as a human shield.

At the end of the surveillance video, one member of the group sprinted away while the other two fled on foot. Relli testified that he went back to the scene to retrieve two 9mm shell casings from the incident. Under cross-examination, Relli claimed he didn’t call 911 until two days later because he wanted to retain a lawyer first.

Rocky was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on April 20, 2022, and released on bail the same day, per theLos Angeles Times. Rocky was later released after posting a $550,000 bond, according to the outlet.

source: people.com