LOS ANGELES (AP) — A$AP Rocky He is scheduled to go on trial in Los Angeles early next year on charges that he fired a gun at a former friend and collaborator on the streets near a Hollywood hotel in 2021.
The trial of the 36-year-old rapper, fashion mogul, Grammy nominee and celebrity co-president Met Gala is scheduled to begin jury selection on Jan. 21. He has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. The trial was scheduled to begin Nov. 12, but his team asked at a hearing Tuesday that it be postponed because he is headlining the Rolling Loud music festival in Thailand next month.
Superior Court Judge Mark S. Arnold said he will allow video cameras to broadcast the trial, which is expected to last about two weeks.
“I think the public deserves to see what happens in the courtroom,” the judge said.
He asked defense attorney Joe Tacopina if Rihanna, with whom Rocky is in a relationship and has two children, plans to attend the trial so he can take proper safety measures.
Tacopina said he doesn’t know, but “I almost guarantee it’s not every day.”
Another judge ruled after a preliminary hearing almost a year ago that Rocky should be tried for allegedly firing a gun at Terell Ephron, a childhood friend who testified that their relationship had soured and that a dispute came to a head on the night of Nov. 6, 2021. Ephron testified that the bullets grazed his knuckles.
Rocky could receive up to 24 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Tacopina said outside the courtroom Tuesday that he was confident Rocky would clear his name and that, despite the delay, “he is eager to get to trial. “Having this hanging over your head is not something I want.”
Rocky was recently selected to be celebrity president at the Met Gala in May along with Pharrell Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo and LeBron Jamesalthough the outcome of the trial could complicate his ability to attend.
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