LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — A$AP Rocky might speed the danger of taking the rise in his personal protection on Tuesday at his trial over two criminal counts of attack with a semiautomatic firearm.
In dialogue with a Los Angeles pass judgement on at the ultimate stages of Rocky’s trial, his attorney Joe Tacopina mentioned that both his consumer would testify early Tuesday or the protection would remainder its case. An legal professional for the prosecution mentioned his workforce was once getting to spend the night time making ready for Rocky’s testimony.
He isn’t legally required to testify, and subjecting a defendant to a hard cross-examination is frequently a big gamble in felony circumstances.
Tacopina mentioned ahead of the trial that Rocky was once “eager to tell his story. He would love the opportunity to do so.”
The legal professionals may no longer give remark out of doors court docket Monday as a result of a pass judgement on has restrained them from chatting with the media. Rocky faces as much as 24 years in jail if convicted, then turning unwell a pre-trial plea do business in that can have led to only 180 days in prison.
If Rocky testifies, he’ll most certainly have to stand an extended and combative cross-examination from Deputy District Attorney John Lewin. In his most famed case, Lewin stored actual property inheritor Robert Durst at the rise for 9 days of relentless wondering ahead of he was once convicted of homicide.
Rocky is a Grammy-nominated hip-hop big name, model wealthy person and the longtime spouse of making a song celebrity Rihanna, with whom he has two infant sons. She might seem Tuesday to look at his testimony.
She has proven up sporadically — maximum not too long ago on Friday, once they left the courthouse in combination for the primary hour, strolling arm-in-arm.
Rocky, whose criminal title is Rakim Mayers, would most likely testify {that a} gun he fired two times — in a scuffle with a former buddy on a Hollywood side road nook in 2021 — was once a starter pistol that most effective fired blanks, and that he carried it for safety.
On Monday, his excursion supervisor was the second one observer from Rocky’s interior circle to testify that he carried the phony gun.
Lou Levin mentioned he instructed the rapper it made sense to hold it then Rocky’s space have been damaged into through a stalker and others.
“Security and I thought it would be a good idea, because of the prior violence,” Levin said. “It’s just a nonlethal form of self-defense.”
Levin mentioned he were given the gun from a video explode in the summertime of 2021, about 3 months ahead of the incident that resulted in the fees, and at the age itself.
He instructed the jury that he returned the phony gun to the tune video’s co-director, who now not had it when Levin requested about it then Rocky’s arrest. The protection mentioned it does no longer have the starter pistol now.
Government additionally didn’t recuperate the pistol they allege Rocky worn.
Levin testified that an ammunition album present in Rocky’s space through officials serving a seek warrant in reality belonged to him.
Lewin, the prosecutor, mentioned “you had to come up with a story” to give an explanation for the album. He upcoming referred to as each facet of the tale “a lie.”
“I didn’t have to come up with a story — it’s the truth,” Levin mentioned.