Rapper A$AP Rocky found not guilty in assault trial

A$AP Rocky in court as the verdict is given in his felony assault trial in Los Angeles, California. Photo / Daniel Cole-Pool, Getty Images

A jury has found rapper A$AP Rocky not guilty of two counts of felony assault at the conclusion of his trial in Los Angeles.

The musician, who has two children with singer Rihanna, had faced more than two decades in prison if he had been convicted of the alleged attack on a former friend in Hollywood in 2021.

There was commotion in the Los Angeles courtroom as the verdict was read out, with the Grammy-nominated hip hop star, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, hugging people as he was declared not guilty.

During the weeks-long trial, prosecutors said Mayers had shot a semi-automatic weapon during a confrontation with Terell Ephron, also known as A$AP Relli, on November 6, 2021, in the heart of Hollywood, grazing Ephron’s hand.

Mayers had insisted he had been carrying only a harmless prop gun, which fired blanks.

Neither side was able to produce the gun they said had been used in the alleged attack.

- Agence France-Presse