On the first day of A$AP Rocky's trial, jurors watched surveillance footage that prosecutors claimed showed clearly the rapper fired a gun at a former friend in 2021, but the defense said is part of a story that identifies A$AP Rocky as a jealous, money-hungry rival who fabricated large sums of money.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec delivered a calm and straightforward argument Friday during opening statements in the trial of the hip-hop star, fashion mogul and actor. It relied almost entirely on video evidence and audio from 911 calls.
“What becomes clear almost immediately is that this is not a complicated case,” Przeromiec said.
Rocky's attorney, Joe Tacopina, said in his opening defense statement that the video evidence would be meaningless without the testimony of his accuser, Terrell Efron, also known as A$AP Leri. Tacopina claimed that Leli was motivated by “jealousy, lies and greed.”
“This case depends on his credibility,” Tacopina said, repeatedly calling Relli a “perjurer and a criminal,” drawing opposition from prosecutors. “The video you saw proves absolutely nothing without his testimony.”
The defense argued that the gun was a starter pistol that fired only blank shots, that Relli knew it, and that Rocky was carrying it only as a prop for self-defense.
The first video released by prosecutors, shot from close up but partially cut off, shows two men physically fighting outside a Hollywood parking lot on the night of Nov. 6, 2021. , two other people were seen intervening. Wearing a black hoodie, he pulled out a gun and pointed it, but it didn't fire.
“The evidence in this case will show that the man in the black sweatshirt is the defendant, Rakim Mayers,” Przeromiec said, referring to Rocky's legal name. “The evidence is consistent.”
Rocky has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semi-automatic weapon, charges that could carry up to 24 years in prison.
Minutes after the initial crash, Przeromiec showed two more videos of the moment taken from other cameras, saying shots were fired about a block away. One, a small image in the corner of the frame, shows a scuffle between four men. The other was taken at the same time and captures two gunshots.
He also called 911 a few minutes later.
“There was a shooting,” says a woman with an Australian accent. “We saw it. There were four guys there and they were kind of fighting.”
Przeromiec told the jury that all four men were old friends. They were all members of A$AP Collective, a creative group founded around 2006 at a New York high school.
In addition to Rocky and two of his friends who were with him in Los Angeles for the concert, Leli was also included.
Leli will testify that the two were fighting. Prosecutors said Relli believed they would argue but reconcile if they met near the W Hotel. Things quickly changed when Rocky pulled out a gun. However, Leli chased him as he left.
“In his state of mind, he never expected to be shot,” Przeromiec said.
Defense attorneys argued that Leli wasn't afraid because she “knew the gun wasn't real.”
Leli suffered no major injuries. Przeromiec showed jurors a photo of a small, bloody abrasion on Leli's knuckle, which he said could have been caused by a gunshot wound, but said it was unrelated to the charges.
The defense argued that the injury, which Tacopina ridiculed, was significant because Relli's original claims showed his dishonesty.
“Oh my god, how is he going to survive a scrape on his knuckle?” Tacopina said.
Tacopina claimed that Leli was actually the attacker in both encounters, and that Rocky fired blank shots from a prop gun to stop Leli from attacking one of the A$AP crew members he was with. He said that's why Leli rubbed her knuckles.
Pzeromiec also released text messages from about 90 minutes after the incident, in which Rocky denies anything happened.
The message from Leli read, “Please try to kill me.”
Rocky replied, “What the hell are you talking about?”
And Tacopina blamed the fact that the seven officers who searched the scene found no shell casings, no weapon, and no suspect.
Two days later, Relli went to police and produced a pair of 9mm shell casings that he said he had recovered from the scene.
“You're going to see that narrative fall apart in a big way,” Tacopina said.
Leli has filed a civil lawsuit over the incident, and Przeromiec showed her a text message from Rocky to another friend shortly after the incident, in which she said, “I'm going to take Rocky's money because he shot me.'' said.
Mr. Tacopina said Mr. Relli went to the police because his civil attorney would not take his case and charge Mr. Rocky unless Mr. Relli did so.
Another prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, frequently objected that Tacopina blatantly and deliberately made disallowed or unwarranted claims in his opening statements.
During a subsequent break, Lewin and Tacopina had a heated exchange in which they screamed in each other's faces and broke typical courtroom decorum. Another defense attorney stepped between the two men and tried to break up the altercation.
Rocky, wearing a gray suit, sat in the courtroom and watched along with his lawyers. His mother and sister were also among the supporters who sat in his section. Rihanna, his longtime partner and mother of his two young sons, has not appeared in court and is expected to make fewer, if any, appearances during the proceedings.
In a classic Hollywood moment, the first witness called by the prosecution was a police sergeant. Video from Thomas Zizzo's body camera of the scene has been released.
He is the son of former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne.
Zizzo disputed Tacopina's opening statement, testifying that he and other officers responded to reports of shots fired and searched “every nook and cranny” of the area for shell casings.
“We may have overlooked something,” he said.
