A$AP Rocky's lawyers to cast accuser as money seeker in opening statements at trial

LOS ANGELES -- A$AP Rocky is the celebrity in the room, but A$AP Relli will star at his trial.

The hip-hop star, fashion maven and actor, whose legal name is Rakim Athelaston Mayers, is accused of firing a gun at his former friend Relli, born Terell Ephron, on whose testimony prosecutors are pinning their case.

Opening statements are set to begin Friday at the trial after a jury of seven women and five men was selected over the course of three days. Rocky is charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

He took a major risk by turning down a prosecution plea deal offer of just six months in jail and instead choosing to go to trial. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a term of up to 24 years in prison.

The defense plans to paint Ephron as a money seeker and point out he has sued Rocky in civil court, seeking financial damages for the incident.

"He's the witness that this case will rise and fall on, for sure," Rocky's lead attorney Joe Tacopina said after a recent pretrial hearing. "Whether he's a star is something that remains to be seen."

"There's jealousy obviously, and he's made that clear. He became a hater," Tacopina said. "This is in large part about money, money, money."

Rocky and Relli were part of a group of young creators in high school in New York who called themselves A$AP - for Always Strive and Prosper - and initially remained close as Rocky found wealth and fame through music. The relationship soured, coming to a head with the alleged shooting on Nov. 6, 2021, when Ephron says Rocky fired on him and grazed his knuckles.

The defense plans to call witnesses to testify that a firearm seen on a security video is a starter pistol that Rocky carried as a prop for security.

They likely will say that is why, despite a search of the spot by many police officers, no shell casings were found at the site near Hollywood and Vine. Police did not recover a gun in the case.

Ephron went to the police two days later and brought 9 mm shell casings he had picked up himself, which are both points the defense will seize on. No fingerprints were recovered from the casings.

The trial's celebrity goes beyond Rocky. The Grammy-nominated hip-hop star's longtime partner is Rihanna and the couple have two toddler sons together.

Tacopina suggested it's unlikely Rihanna will show up in court and her name may not come up at all, though it did frequently during jury selection when many prospective jurors said they were fans.

Rocky has been named one of the celebrity chairs of the Met Gala in May and has a major role in a Spike Lee-directed film with Denzel Washington to be released soon after. But his life could be upended with a conviction.

In the deal from prosecutors he rejected, Rocky was to plead guilty to one of the two counts in exchange for a sentence recommendation of 180 days in jail, a seven-year suspended prison sentence and three years of probation.

Beyond Ephron, the prosecution's witnesses primarily will be the police who worked on the case.

They also will rely heavily on surveillance video that captured parts of the incident and the circumstances. Prosecutors at the 2023 preliminary hearing showed a still image taken from video with a man in a hooded sweatshirt whose face is not visible holding what appears to be a gun, along with another image showing the face of the man in the sweatshirt, with no gun visible. A detective testified that investigators established it was Rocky.

Rocky himself could take the stand and his attorney has said he wants to, but the lawyers say they have not yet decided and he is legally allowed to avoid testifying.