A former friend who alleges rapper A$AP Rocky fired a gun at him in 2021 testified on Monday that no one involved in the incident gave him any indication the firearm might have been fake – as the defence contends – until the day Rocky’s trial started two weeks ago.
The testimony from the trial’s key witness, who goes by A$AP Relli, came at the end of a long, frustrating slog on the stand in a Los Angeles courtroom that drove him to shout, “You’re annoying, bro!” and much more at the lead defence attorney.
In its re-direct questioning on Monday, the prosecution pushed back against the idea that for security Rocky carried a starter pistol that only shot blanks.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec showed Relli texts from after the incident in which he told Rocky “U try killing me” and that Rocky had tried to take him from his daughter.
“At any point did he respond to your text messages to tell you it was a fake gun?” The prosecutor asked Relli, who testified his knuckles were grazed in the incident.
“No,” he responded. He said the same of the two mutual friends who had been there.
The testimony was the first time the jury heard how late the prop gun defence was revealed, despite more than three years passing and several days of testimony at a preliminary hearing in 2023.
Rihanna, the superstar singer who is Rocky’s longtime partner and the mother of his two toddler sons, was not in the courtroom after being in the audience to support him for the trial’s previous three days. (PTI)
