A$AP Rocky listens to closing arguments during his trial in Los Angeles, Friday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Patrick T. Fallon/ Pool Photo via AP)
Share and Follow

Jurors in the felony assault trial of A$AP Rocky got the case late Friday (local time) after a prosecutor told them in his closing argument that they must set aside their feelings for the hip-hop star, his singing superstar wife Rihanna, and their small children.

The Los Angeles jury of seven women and five men got the case late in the day and will begin discussing two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm on Tuesday, after a three-day weekend.

Convictions on both counts could mean up to 24 years in prison.

A$AP Rocky listens to closing arguments during his trial in Los Angeles, Friday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Patrick T. Fallon/ Pool Photo via AP)
Rocky is accused of firing two shots at a former friend on a Hollywood street corner in 2021. (AP)

Rihanna came to court shortly after closing arguments began Thursday, as she did often during the three week trial.

But for the first time she brought their 2-year-old and 1-year-old sons.

Deputy District Attorney John Lewin suggested it was an attempt to manipulate jurors.

“They brought in two adorable children yesterday for closing argument,” Lewin said. “They haven’t been here any other time. And you have to ask yourselves, why children that age would be here in a situation like this?”

He added, “You are not allowed to consider how this might affect Rihanna and his kids. We are all responsible for our own actions in the world.”

Rihanna was sitting with Rocky’s mother and sister, without the children, on Friday.

She and Rocky left the courtroom together, surrounded by security.

Rocky is accused of firing two shots at a former friend on a Hollywood street corner in 2021.

His attorneys argued that he only fired blanks from a prop gun he had picked up for security on a music video shoot.

Singer Rihanna leaves Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Liam McEwan)
Rihanna came to court shortly after closing arguments began Thursday, as she did often during the three week trial. (AP)

During his closing argument, lawyer Joe Tacopina cast his accuser, who goes by A$AP Relli, as the aggressor and an unreliable liar.

Tacopina showed the jury belligerent text messages from just before the confrontation, later deleted by Relli, where he urges Rocky to beat him up.

The prosecution had shown only Rocky’s angry responses to suggest he started the fight. But it was not the opposing lawyers’ fault, he said.

“Their witness lied to them, lied to police, and deleted the messages,” Tacopina said. “He destroyed evidence.”

Tacopina showed jurors the transcript of the moment during testimony that he confronted Relli about the messages.

“At first he said, ‘I don’t recall.’ Then I showed him the messages,” Tacopina said. “What did he say next? His go-to line. ‘It’s fake! It’s fake!’ Anything that crushed him was fake.”

He dwelled on how combative Relli was on the stand.

“That was in front of you,” Tacopina said. “Imagine what he’s like in the street.”

Shifting to the street, Tacopina narrated the surveillance video that partially showed the initial confrontation to say Relli started the fight.

Judge Mark S. Arnold presides over closing arguments in the trial of A$AP Rocky, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Allison Dinner/Pool Photo via AP)
Judge Mark S. Arnold presides over closing arguments in the trial of A$AP Rocky. (AP)

He pointed out that the video shows Relli raising his arm to take on Rocky as the first move — though Rocky is out of frame at that moment.

“If you had to make a decision, the most important in your life or that of your family’s, on his word, would you do it? You all know what the answer to that question is,” the lawyer said.

Then he pointed at Rocky.

“What you’re being asked to do is to make that decision in the most important matter of his life.”

Relli said his knuckles were grazed by one of the shots but he was otherwise not injured.

Even if jurors don’t buy the phony gun argument, they can acquit by finding that Rocky was acting in defence of himself or his friends.

Neither side produced a gun as evidence.

In his rebuttal, Lewin said, “If it is a prop gun, there is no self-defence.”

Lewin told jurors this could be “a five-minute verdict.”

“Once you decide it’s not a prop gun — and it’s not a prop gun,” he said, “the case is over.”

Attorney Joe Tacopina sits next to his client A$AP Rocky during Rocky's trial, in Los Angeles, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, . (Patrick T. Fallon/Pool Photo via AP)
Attorney Joe Tacopina sits next to his client A$AP Rocky. (AP)

He returned repeatedly to Rocky’s status.

“He is a big, important man, and everybody serves him,” Lewin said.

That includes, he said, two men from his inner circle who testified he had picked up the prop gun at a music video and for months had been carrying it.

“They were just liars, start to finish,” Lewin said.

During a break in the presentation, Judge Mark Arnold told Lewin to stop the references to Rocky’s family.

“The manner in which you did it — I don’t think it was improper,” the judge said. “But you cannot mention again Rihanna being in the courtroom, or the kids being in the courtroom.”

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
Searches resume for two people missing at NSW beaches after spate of drownings

Intensive Search Operations Underway for Missing Individuals Amidst Rising Drowning Incidents at NSW Beaches

Early yesterday morning, a young man in his 20s found himself in…

Howard Cautioned Against Deploying Elite Troops to Afghanistan

Former prime minister John Howard was cautioned against deploying Australian Special Forces…

Government Expresses Concern Over China’s Recent Beef Tariff Changes

Trade Minister Don Farrell has said the government is “disappointed” with China’s…

Tragic Fire at Swiss Ski Resort’s New Year Celebration Claims Nearly 40 Lives

Around 40 people were killed and over 100 injured, including one Australian,…

Insights from a Former Howard-Era Immigration Minister for Sussan Ley

A former conservative frontbencher says the Coalition should be less focused on…

Daniel Sanders Aims for Consecutive Wins: Inside the 2026 Dakar Rally Ambitions

The countdown is on for the “world’s toughest motor race”, and last…

Khawaja Announces Retirement from International Cricket, Addresses Critics with Reflective Message

Veteran Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has announced his retirement from international cricket.…

China Reinstates Taxes on Birth Control: A Controversial Move to Boost Population Growth

China has removed a three-decade-old tax exemption on contraceptive drugs and devices…