Judge rules A$AP Rocky must stand trial on charges he fired gun at former friend

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles judge ruled on Monday that there was sufficient evidence for rapper A$AP Rocky to stand trial amid accusations that he fired a weapon at a former friend and collaborator outside a California hotel two years ago.

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Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar announced the ruling during a preliminary hearing after hearing more than a day of testimony, KCAL-TV reported.

Villar said “the totality of the video and testimony” shows there is sufficient evidence for the defendant to go to trial, according to The Associated Press. The judge added that preliminary hearings have a much lower evidence standard than a trial, and that she was only finding probable cause.

A$AP Rocky, 35, whose legal name is Rakim Athelaston Mayers, has pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of assaulting his friend since high school, Terell Ephron, known as A$AP Relli, with a firearm, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The two-time Grammy Award nominee is in a relationship with singer Rihanna, with whom he has two sons, according to KCAL.

Mayers is accused of pulling a gun from his waistband during a fight on a Hollywood sidewalk on Nov. 6, 2021, the Times reported. The rapper allegedly shot Ephron, grazing his hand, according to the newspaper.

Mayers was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in April 2023 and was charged in the case four months later.

If convicted, he faces up to nine years in prison if convicted, Rolling Stone reported.

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