A$AP Rocky is speaking out against the charges he faces in connection with the 2021 alleged shooting of former A$AP Mob member Relli.
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Per Rolling Stone, the defense lawyer for Rocky (legal name Rakim Mayers), Joe Tacopina, said over the weekend that the allegations made by Relli (legal name Terrell Ephron) are nothing but a “a plain and blatant classic attempt at extortion.” Tacopina went on to explain that there’s long documented proof that Relli had been trying to get money from Rocky and when it didn’t work out, this “false scenario” ended up happening.
“Rocky didn’t shoot him by any stretch,” Tacopina said in a statement. “He’s [Ephron] a failed associate–ex-associate–of Rocky’s, and he’s jealous. He was trying to get money from Rocky. He wanted Rocky to support him. He made it clear. There were repeated attempts where he tried to ask for money in lieu of not causing problems for Rocky. That’s what he said. We have all this memorialized in text messages and otherwise, so it’s an extortion. He tried to attack Rocky, and some other guy got involved, and he punched some other guy in the face and knocked his teeth out, and of course now, according to him, he’s a victim.”
Lawyers for Ephron have since responded to Tacopina’s statement saying: “The merits of the present case against A$AP Rocky [have] been thoroughly investigated by both law enforcement and the Los Angeles District Attorney prior to the decision to not only arrest A$AP Rocky but charge him.”
As previously reported by The Root, last month, per Rocky pleaded not guilty in connection with the alleged shooting. He currently faces two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm with allegations of personally using a firearm. If convicted, he could face up to nine years in prison.