Grammy-nominated rapper A$AP Rocky’s three-week trial has finally come to an end. On Tuesday, jurors began to deliberate his fate...but things didn’t close out without a bit of drama.
The trial concluded with two attorneys yelling at each other.
Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was accused of firing a gun at a former friend in 2021. However, prosecutors claimed that Rocky had an argument with Terell Ephron (who goes by A$AP Relli), pulled a gun on him and fired two shots at him moments later.
Rocky’s defense attorney, Joe Tacopina, argued that his client was carrying a prop gun that night which he got while shooting a music video. Tacopina also insisted that Rocky only fired to stop Ephron from hurting his friend, Illijah Ulanga.
The tension between Tacopina and Deputy District Attorney John Lewin had been building throughout the trial, but came to a boiling point on Friday (Feb. 14).
During Tacopina’s closing, he insinuated that prosecutors had “accepted” Ephron’s perjury. A break soon followed with the jury out of the room and Lewin repeated his objection per Courthouse News Service.
Then, a hostile exchange took place.
“They accept the fact that their witness committed perjury. That’s fair comment,” Tacopina said.
Lewin quickly reacted to this statement.
“It is not fair comment. It is completely unethical,” Lewin said. He added that that Tacopina “doesn’t know or doesn’t care about the law.” Tacopina then exclaimed he “just about had it from him.”
It wasn’t long before the pair insulted each other. Tacopina called Lewin a “hunchback,” which drew a laugh from Rocky. Lewin then accused Tacopina of using “steroids.”
With the jury returning, the pair stopped their bickering. Lewin finished his closing statements, which lasted nearly five-and-a-half hours. If convicted, Rocky could face over 20 years in prison.