A$AP Rocky's Legal Team Seeks Favorable Jury as Trial Opens Over Shooting Charges
Jury selection begins in Los Angeles for the three-week trial of the rapper, who is accused of firing a gun at a former friend.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The trial of rapper A$AP Rocky begins this week in Los Angeles, with the rapper's legal team working to secure a favorable jury in the high-profile case. Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, faces charges related to an alleged shooting incident in which he is accused of firing at a former friend.
On Wednesday, nearly 100 jurors were summoned to a Los Angeles courtroom, where they will be questioned throughout the three-week trial. The jury selection process kicked off on Tuesday with defense attorneys probing potential jurors about their opinions on hip-hop, firearms, and people from New York, reflecting the background of both the rapper and his defense team.
During jury questioning, defense attorney Joe Tacopina, who hails from New York like his client, made light of his own accent, asking, “When I get up here with this ridiculous accent, which I try not to have but I do, is anyone going to have a problem?” None of the jurors admitted to holding negative views.
Tacopina later added, "I love LA," in an attempt to set a friendly tone. While nearly half of the prospective jurors acknowledged they had heard of A$AP Rocky before the trial, almost all were familiar with his partner, singer Rihanna, and agreed they would not let the couple’s celebrity influence their judgment.
The jury selection follows Rocky’s decision to reject a plea deal offering jail time, a suspended sentence, and probation if he pleaded guilty to one of the two felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. With 106 potential jurors initially summoned, some were excused due to hardships, including one man who was dismissed after stating his strong anti-gun stance. Once 12 jurors and alternates are chosen, opening statements could begin as early as Wednesday afternoon.
The defense team raised concerns over the jury pool’s demographics after noticing a lack of African-American representation. The area from which the jurors were selected has a 9% African-American population, yet Rocky’s attorney Chad Seigel argued that less than 5% of the jury pool appeared to be Black. Seigel claimed this discrepancy violated Rocky’s right to a fair trial under the Sixth Amendment and California law. However, Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold dismissed the motion, stating that there was no legal requirement for any specific ethnic composition on a jury.
A$AP Rocky, who is also a major figure in the fashion industry, is set to attend the Met Gala in May and star in an upcoming Spike Lee film with Denzel Washington. However, a conviction in this case could significantly impact his future.
The charges stem from a 2021 altercation with Terell Ephron, a childhood friend who claims their relationship soured before the incident on November 6 of that year. Ephron testified that he was grazed by bullets during the alleged shooting.
In court on Tuesday, Tacopina revealed that the defense plans to call witnesses who will testify that the firearm seen in a security video was a starter pistol, which Rocky allegedly used as a prop for security purposes.