A$AP Rocky gives six-word response to jury after verdict in his shooting trial

Rapper A$AP Rocky was potentially facing over 20 years in prison if convicted of shooting a former friend in his gun assault trial, but he’s been found not guilty.


A$AP Rocky was found not guilty in his felony shooting trial(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

A$AP Rocky had six emotional words for the jury in his gun assault trial.

The 36-year-old rapper has been found not guilty of shooting a former friend in his felony shooting trial. After a trial spanning over two weeks, a Los Angeles jury acquitted the star of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, sparing him up to 24 years in prison.

Emotions ran high in the court during the verdict on Tuesday (February 18) as Rihanna, his famous partner, broke down in tears. The pair welcomed their first son together in 2022, and their second a year later.

It was alleged the rapper, born Rakim Athelston Mayers, had shot at former friend A$AP Relli. He declined a previous offer of a six-month jail sentence and probation, which would have seen him plead guilty to one count in the case.

A$AP Rocky
The rapper celebrated the verdict by hugging his team and family(Image: Getty Images

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Instead, it went to trial, and the jury of seven women and five men reached a unanimous not guilty decision after around three hours. The rapper dove into the gallery to hug his team and family while celebrating the verdict.

He also thanked the jurors as they left the courtroom. “Thank y’all for saving my life,” he said.


Rihanna and A$AP Rocky outside the court(Image: GC Images)

Umbrella singer Rihanna was seen on her man’s arm outside the court. He revealed he had wanted to shield her from the trial, but “wild horses couldn’t keep her away”.

During the trial, A$AP Relli, who had been associated with Rocky since high school as part of the music group A$AP Mob, claimed that Rocky fired two shots from a handgun at him.

He testified that he was unharmed but claimed one bullet grazed his knuckle.

Rocky’s legal team said the shots he had fired were blanks from a prop gun from a music video. The court also heard that the jury could not find him guilty if they found that he was defending himself.