A$AP Rocky has been found not guilty of firing a gun at his former friend.
The rapper dived into his partner Rihanna’s arms when the verdict was read out at the end of the trial.
He had been charged with two felony counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm against former friend Terell Ephron, known as A$AP Relli, in November 2021.
Once close, the pair were both members of the A$AP Mob crew of creators at high school in New York, but their relationship broke down after Rocky became famous, the court was told.
A$AP Rocky reacting in court after the verdict is heard.
Pic: Reuters/Daniel Cole/Pool
Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, embraces his lawyer Joe Tacopina in court after his not-guilty verdict.
Pic: Reuters/Daniel Cole/Pool
“Thank y’all for saving my life,” Rocky told jurors as they left the courtroom. He had faced more than 24 years in prison if convicted.
After the verdict, Rihanna cried and also hugged lawyers.
Speaking outside court amid a frenzied media scrum, Rocky said: “First of all, I gotta thank god. I really wanna thank the jury for making the right decision.
“I’m so thankful this is crazy right now. I’m thankful… we’re blessed to be a freeman talking to all of y’all.”
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky outside court after he was found not guilty.
Pic: Reuters/Daniel Cole
The courtroom, full of fans of the rapper, exploded in screaming after the verdict was heard.
After a three-week trial the jury deliberated for just three hours.
Amid the chaos, it took the clerk a while to read the second not-guilty verdict.
A$AP Rocky gestures while leaving court, following his not-guilty verdict.
Pic: AP/Damian Dovarganes
‘Jealousy, lies and greed’
During the trial, jurors were shown surveillance videos which prosecutors argued were clear evidence that Rocky fired a gun at Ephron outside a parking garage in Hollywood.
But the 36-year-old’s attorney told the court Ephron was driven by “jealousy, lies and greed” and that the gun was actually a “starter pistol” that only shot blanks.
Rocky’s lawyers and witnesses said he had fired the prop gun as a warning because Ephron was attacking another member of their group.
The jury was also instructed that if they found Rocky reasonably believed that he or one of the two friends with him that night were in imminent danger and that he used reasonable force, they could find him not guilty.
It was not immediately clear whether the not-guilty verdict was reached because the jury believed he was carrying a prop gun or that he acted in self-defence.
Terell Ephron, aka A$AP Relli, was a former friend. Pic: Frazer Harrison/Pool via AP
Ahead of the trial, the rapper turned down a final prosecution offer – to plead guilty to one of his two felony counts and serve 180 days in prison.
Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, has two toddler sons with his pop superstar partner.
The Umbrella singer attended court on several days during the trial, including when Ephron gave evidence.
Rocky was nominated for an award at the Grammys earlier this month, and is one of the celebrity chairmen of this year’s Met Gala in May.
He also has a major role in an upcoming Spike Lee-directed film with Denzel Washington.
