A$AP Rocky’s lawyer says he is “not interested” in taking a plea deal, less than a week before he goes on trial for the alleged shooting of a former bandmate and friend.
Attorneys for both sides met Wednesday to potentially reach an agreement on a plea deal. But his defense attorneys and prosecutors were unable to reach an agreement.
The trial is scheduled to continue on Jan. 21, beginning with the selection of a 12-person jury.
Superstar Rihanna’s boyfriend Rocky, 36, who was not present at a trial readiness hearing in downtown Los Angeles criminal court on Wednesday, pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a firearm. semi-automatic fire.
The rapper faces up to 24 years in prison if convicted of both.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys Joe Tacopina and Sara Caplan met in Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold’s courtroom to discuss a possible “settlement agreement” before Wednesday’s hearing.
A$AP Rocky ‘not interested’ in taking a plea deal, less than a week before he goes to trial for the alleged shooting of a former bandmate and friend

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were spotted in New York City on January 2. The trial is scheduled to continue on January 21 with the selection of a 12-person jury.


Defense attorney Joe Tacopina (left) met with prosecutors in the courtroom to discuss a possible “settlement agreement” before Wednesday’s hearing. Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec told DailyMail.com that no deal was reached
The idea was for Rocky to plead guilty to a lesser charge and avoid a trial that is expected to last up to three weeks.
Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec told DailyMail.com outside the courtroom after the meeting: “We discussed the possibility of a deal, but no specific offer was made.”
Rocky’s lawyer, Tacopina, indicated his client is not interested in making a deal with prosecutors, telling DailyMail.com: “He committed no crime.”
Calling the prosecution’s case “fundamentally weak,” he added: “Ten police officers searched the scene and found no bullet casings there.”
When asked if Rocky would testify at trial, Tacopina said, “I wouldn’t make a decision like that before the trial.” But he’s eager to tell his story.”
The defense attorney, who represented Donald Trump in high-profile cases involving Stormy Daniels and E. Jean Carroll, said he did not know if Rihanna will be at trial to support the father of her two young children.

The charges stem from an altercation in Hollywood in November 2021 between Rocky and fellow rapper A$AP Relli, who was a member of Rocky in the rap group ASAP Mob that started in Harlem in 2006.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold asked Rocky’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, if the rapper was legally married to Rihanna, but Tacopina said he didn’t know.
Judge Arnold invited Rihanna to attend the trial last October. But at Wednesday’s pretrial hearing, the nature of her relationship with Rocky became an issue.
When the judge asked if Rihanna should be referred to as Rocky’s “common-law wife,” Tacopina responded, “Just wife, your honor.”
But when Judge Arnold asked him, “So you’re legally married somewhere?” Tacopina responded: “I don’t know.”
Deputy Prosecutor John Lewin said at the time that if the two are not legally married, during the trial the prosecution would prefer to call them “partners or significant others.” The judge agreed.
The charges against Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, arose from a confrontation in Hollywood in November 2021 between him and fellow rapper Terell Ephron.
Ephron’s stage name is A$AP Relli. He was a member of the rap collective ASAP Mob that began in Harlem, New York, in 2006 alongside Rocky.

Judge Arnold invited Rihanna in October to come to criminal court to support her boyfriend in his jury trial, but Tacopina said he didn’t know if the superstar would be there.

Police concluded their search of Rocky’s Los Angeles home in April 2022 and detectives left the property with a box full of evidence.
At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented surveillance footage and testimony from Ephron and police to support their allegations that during the argument, Rocky pointed a gun at Ephron and then shot him twice, wounding his hand.
Ephron himself testified that Rocky put the gun in his stomach and said, “I’ll kill you right now,” before shooting.
Tacopina has disputed the prosecution’s case, saying there was insufficient evidence that a shooting occurred and called evidence from surveillance video and witness testimony “inconclusive.”
Ephron filed a separate civil suit for assault and battery in which her lawyers said Rocky ‘pulled a gun and intentionally pointed it in (Ephron’s) direction and fired multiple shots.’
Adding that Ephron feared for his life, the lawsuit said he was “hit by a projectile/bullet fragments” causing injuries that required medical attention.
Rocky was arrested in April 2022 at the Los Angeles airport when he was getting off a private plane from Barbados, where he had been on vacation with Rihanna, also 36, a multiple Grammy Award winner.

A$AP Relli himself testified that Rocky put the gun in his stomach and said, ‘I’ll kill you right now,’ before shooting.

If the jury’s verdict in his criminal trial against the rapper goes against him, organizers of New York’s Met Gala in May could be looking for a replacement for the co-host since he is scheduled to attend
Cops held him for a few hours on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, then released him on $550,000 bail and sent the case to the Los Angeles district attorney for prosecution.
It wasn’t until the following August that District Attorney George Gascon decided the charges were serious enough to request felony status, rather than misdemeanor status, which would have meant only a maximum of one year in jail for each charge. .
Rocky is subject to a protective order that requires him to stay at least 100 feet away from Ephron, who is also suing Rocky and Tacopina for defamation.
In that defamation case, Ephron’s attorneys claim that Rocky and Tacopina, in their defense of the civil assault case, have slandered and defamed Ephron, wrongly accusing him of being a “liar, money grabber and extortionist.”
Tacopina dismissed the defamation suit as nothing more than a “publicity stunt” and asked the court to stay the case until a jury decided the criminal assault cases against Rocky.
Ephron’s civil assault lawsuit against Rocky is already on hold pending the outcome of the criminal trial.
Meanwhile, if the jury’s verdict in his criminal trial goes against him, organizers of New York’s Met Gala in May could be looking for a replacement for fashion icon Rocky.
The rapper is scheduled to co-host the glittering event alongside LeBron James, musician Pharrell Williams, Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton and actor-playwright Colman Domingo.