Jury choice is scheduled to start Tuesday in a trial in opposition to A$AP Rocky, who’s charged with firing a gun at a former buddy and will get a decades-long jail sentence if convicted.
The 36-year-old has pleaded not responsible to 2 felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and his lawyer has mentioned he dedicated no crime.
The Grammy-nominated hip-hop star, style mogul and actor is the longtime companion of Rihanna, and the 2 have two toddler sons collectively. It isn’t completely clear whether or not Rihanna will seem to assist him in courtroom, however his lawyer has prompt it is unlikely.
Rocky has been named one of many superstar chairs of the Met Gala in Might, and has a significant position in a Spike Lee-directed movie with Denzel Washington to be launched quickly after.
However his life could possibly be upended with a conviction that would result in a sentence of as much as 24 years if jurors discover him responsible of taking pictures at his former firend in Hollywood in 2021.
Superior Courtroom Decide Mark Arnold mentioned he intends to seat a jury rapidly, and is maintaining strict limits on how lengthy attorneys can query potential jurors.
“I will let the jurors know that regardless of who a defendant is, whether they’re the richest person in the world or the poorest person, everybody is to be treated the same,” he mentioned at a pretrial listening to.
Opening statements may come Wednesday. Arnold is permitting media cameras in courtroom for the whole trial after a jury is chosen.
In 2023, one other decide dominated after a preliminary listening to that Rocky ought to stand trial for allegedly firing a gun at Terell Ephron, a childhood buddy who testified that their relationship had soured and a feud got here to a head on the night time of Nov. 6, 2021. Ephron testified that bullets grazed his knuckles.
