Rapper ASAP Rocky’s taking pictures trial simply began, and legal professionals are already weighing the potential affect his longtime accomplice Rihanna may have over the proceedings.
On Thursday, January 23, throughout jury choice and at some point earlier than legal professionals delivered their opening statements, Deputy District Legal professional John Lewin requested one potential juror — a lady – if she would be capable of ship a responsible verdict to the defendant if Rihanna, 36, was current in court docket.
“What if Rihanna comes right here to court docket, is it going to be exhausting so that you can look over there and see the defendant’s household and ship a responsible verdict?” Lewin requested the lady, as reported by the Related Press.
In line with the information outlet, the lady took an extended pause earlier than answering “sure.”
Rihanna was not in court docket on Thursday or Friday, January 24, when Rocky’s trial formally began. The 36-year-old rapper is charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm associated to a 2021 taking pictures incident in Hollywood. Rocky is accused of firing 4 or 5 pictures at Terell Ephron, a childhood buddy, who claims the pictures “grazed his knuckles,” per the Related Press.
Rocky has pleaded not responsible and his legal professionals say he dedicated no crime. If convicted, he faces as much as 24 years in jail.
In line with the Related Press, it took each the prosecution and the protection two and a half days to pick a set of jurors from a “pool of greater than 100 candidates.” Per the outlet, a podcast editor and actor, in addition to a person who has labored at Dealer Joe’s for greater than 20 years, made the ultimate lower.
Whereas Rihanna — who shares two youngsters, RZA and Riot Rose, with Rocky — has but to make an look in court docket in help of her accomplice, Thomas Zizzo Jr., son of The Actual Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, was current on Friday.
Getty Photos (2) Day one in all rapper ASAP Rocky’s assault trial served as a reminder of simply how small Hollywood will be. Thomas Zizzo Jr., a Los Angeles police officer and son of Actual Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, took the stand on Friday, January 14, throughout day one of many Grammy award-winning […]
The Los Angeles police officer took the stand on day one of many Grammy award-winning rapper’s trial, testifying as one of many first regulation enforcement officers to reach on the scene of the alleged 2021 taking pictures incident. In line with TMZ, the officer reportedly “testified about what he noticed on the scene when he arrived.”
Rihanna, who began courting Rocky in late 2019, has been comparatively silent about her accomplice’s authorized troubles. Nonetheless, she has remained by his facet. In an April 2024 interview with Interview, she spoke candidly about their relationship.
“We’ve identified one another for a very long time. I’ve seen him in relationships. He’s seen me in relationships. We’ve seen one another exterior of relationships,” she mentioned on the time. “We knew what we’re able to, and the difficulty that we may carry to one another’s lives. We are able to make or break one another’s hearts. And so, we began courting with a number of warning.”
