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A$AP Rocky not guilty of firearm assault on LA street

AAP Rocky not guilty of firearm assault on LA street
A former friend said the hip-hop star opened fire at him during a dispute on a Hollywood street in 2021.

An altercation ensued.

Mr Mayers was alleged to have pulled out a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Mr Ephron, telling him: "I'll kill you right now."

"He looked me in my eyes and pointed the gun at me," Mr Ephron testified.

Mr Ephron said he told the rapper to fire the weapon, but Mr Mayers started walking away. As he left, Mr Ephron followed, shouting at him.

Prosecutors alleged that at this point, Mr Mayers once again pulled out the gun and fired multiple shots, with one bullet said to have grazed Mr Ephron's knuckles.

Much of the trial hinged on whether the firearm in question was a harmless prop gun, as Mr Mayers's defence said, or a real weapon capable of causing harm, as Mr Ephron and prosecutors alleged.

The weapon has not been recovered by authorities.

Jurors were able to watch some footage of the altercation because parts were captured on surveillance video, including audio of gunfire, but no video evidence directly showed any shooting.

Mr Ephron took two days before reporting the incident to authorities and brought shell casings he said he had retrieved from the scene.

But police who responded to reports of a shooting in the area did not locate any shell casings. Mr Ephron, who said he returned with his girlfriend hours later, said he knew exactly where to look, but no surveillance footage corroborates his account.

He was not admitted to hospital in Los Angeles and instead went for medical treatment after flying back to New York.

Lawyers for Mr Mayers suggested that Mr Ephron had planted the shell casings to frame the rapper.

The trial was marked by emotional and combative exchanges, particularly when Mr Ephron - the trial's star witness - took the stand.

At one point, Mr Ephron called Mr Tacopina - a defence attorney for Mr Mayers - "annoying", which led to a reprimand from the judge.

Another witness, A$AP Twelvyy, was asked by prosecutors about a photograph showing Mr Mayers's bed with the letters "AWGE" emblazoned on the furniture.

When asked what that stood for, Mr Mayers unexpectedly interrupted the proceedings and yelled, "Don't say!" Twelvyy ultimately refused to elaborate.

Outbursts from defendants during trials are uncommon, especially in front of a jury.

However, for a criminal suspect on trial to interject and instruct a witness not to answer a prosecutor's question during cross-examination is something nearly unheard of in a court.

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