By ANDREW DALTON
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A$AP Rocky is set to go to 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-chair of the next Met Gala is set to begin with jury selection on Jan. 21. He has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. Trial had been scheduled to start 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 air the trial that’s expected to last about two weeks.
“I believe that the public deserves to see what goes on in the courtroom,” the judge said.
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He asked defense lawyer Joe Tacopina whether Rihanna, with whom Rocky is in a relationship and has two children, plans to attend the trial so he could make proper security accommodations.
Tacopina said he doesn’t know, but “I almost guarantee not every day.”
Another judge ruled after a preliminary hearing nearly a year ago that Rocky should stand trial for allegedly firing a gun at Terell Ephron, a childhood friend who testified that their relationship had soured and a feud came to a head on the night of Nov. 6, 2021. Ephron testified that bullets grazed his knuckles.
Rocky could get 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’s eager to get to trial. Having this hanging over his head is not something he wants.”
Rocky was recently selected to be a celebrity chair at the Met Gala in May along with Pharrell Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo and LeBron James, though the result of the trial could complicate his ability to attend.
