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In A$AP Rocky's Hollywood assault trial, accuser testifies rapper allegedly threatened to kill him

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During the second day of A$AP Rocky's assault trial, the man he is accused of shooting at years earlier on a Hollywood sidewalk took the stand Tuesday and told jurors he was "furious" when the rapper allegedly pulled a gun on him.

Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, watched from the defense table as his former friend testified that the Grammy-nominated rapper had pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at him on Nov. 6, 2021. According to prosecutors, it was the first of two confrontations that day between Rocky and the victim, Terell Ephron, a former friend and collaborator of his.

The second alleged incident is when Rocky is accused of opening fire, shooting twice in the direction of Ephron.

The Harlem-born rapper and actor, longtime partner to Rihanna with whom he shares two children, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm since being arrested in April 2022. He has maintained his innocence through statements by his attorneys and turned down a plea deal from prosecutors last week which would have included 180 days in jail.

Celebrity Sightings In Los Angeles - January 28, 2025
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 28: Rakim Mayers, better known as A$AP Rocky, arrives at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on January 28, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.  PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

If convicted of all charges, he could face a maximum possible sentence of 24 years in prison. 

Ephron, like Rocky, was also once a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob and previously performed as A$AP Relli. The assault trial began Friday with opening statements, much of the prosecution's case relying on video evidence while the defense portrayed Ephron as a friend-turned-rival of the rapper who had lied during prior testimony and tried to launch an "extortion plan" against him.

On Tuesday, Ephron told jurors Rocky said "I'll kill you right now" as he pointed the gun at him, telling jurors it was pointed "like towards my stomach, like towards like my head and shoulder," according to the Associated Press's livestream of the trial.

Ephron said he couldn't remember some of the alleged incident. When the prosecution asked if the gun was moving, Ephron replied, "Yeah, it moving. He had it up."

"He was looking for a spot to shoot me," Ephron said, saying that if another person who there at the time hadn't been there, "I don't know what would've happened." 

"Like mentally, I couldn't believe he just pulled a gun out on me," Ephron said, saying he was "furious."

Later the same day, prosecutors allege Rocky fired twice in the direction of Ephron during another confrontation. Ephron testified last year that bullets grazed his knuckles during that second alleged incident. Meanwhile, attorneys for A$AP Rocky have argued the alleged victim is lying and the rapper was carrying a prop gun that only fires blanks, which he kept for show as a means of security.

During opening statements last week, defense attorney Joe Tacopina told jurors Ephron allegedly "fabricated evidence."

"What you'll learn is that Relli returned to that scene an hour later," Tacopina said of the Hollywood street where prosecutors allege Rocky opened fire. "And he attempted to fabricated evidence... This is some offensive stuff."

Tacopina said Ephron went back to the scene with his girlfriend and claimed he found two shell casings there, video-taping them. 

"You will see that story fall apart so hard. Why? Because the evidence will show you that, well before Relli returned to the area, seven police officers arrived at that same spot," Tacopina said. "They responded to the scene and carefully searched every inch of that area."

Ephron had yet to begin testifying about the second alleged incident Tuesday, with his testimony expected to continue Wednesday during the third day of the trial at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles. 

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