A$AP Rocky Trial, With Twists And Controversial Prosecutor, Nears Conclusion

The trial of rapper A$AP Rocky on felony assault charges is nearing its conclusion, after several bizarre twists, plus controversies surrounding a member of the prosecution team.

Rocky, 36, (born Rakim Mayers) pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in connection with an altercation with A$AP Relli (real name Terell Ephron) in Hollywood on Nov. 6, 2021.

Rocky rejected a plea deal from prosecutors that would have required him to plead guilty to one of the felony counts and spend 180 days in prison, with a seven-year suspended sentence and three years on probation. Instead, he opted for a trial by jury, which began on Jan. 24.

During opening arguments, Rocky’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, alleged Relli is a “fraud” and had “fabricated” his story “to extract money from Rocky.” Tacopina said surveillance video of the incident shown in court showed that Rocky had a prop gun that shot blanks, which he had for intimidation purposes.

“It looks and sounds like a real gun,” Tacopina said, noting that Rocky was “advised by security to carry a prop gun” to scare off “potential attackers.”

The prosecution submitted new evidence the night before the trial began, frustrating the defense, who requested additional time for its own experts to examine the shell casings allegedly retrieved by Relli from the scene, which he identified as 9 mm.

Deputy District Attorney John Lewin said in court that the shell casings have markings consistent with a “Glock model 40 and 43.”

“The markings on these casings are a bit more unique and the examiner will testify that the markings he’s seen are very rare… but align with a Glock 43,” Lewin said.

Notably, investigators never recovered the gun. On Monday, Rocky’s tour manager, Lou Levin, became the second person to testify that he carried a prop gun, and further testified that he had taken the fake gun back from Rocky and returned it to a music video director in New York City.

Levin also testified that a Glock 43 magazine police found in Rocky’s home six months after the incident was actually his. The magazine was loaded with 9 mm bullets, but they were a different brand than those Relli allegedly recovered at the scene. Levin testified that the magazine was purchased in error for a different gun and was never used.

Deputy DA Lewin, meanwhile, is currently the target of a planned lawsuit from two Los Angeles prosecutors who supported the resentencing and release of convicted murderers Erik and Lyle Menendez, for alleged “retaliation” alongside new District Attorney Nathan Hochman.

Brock Lunsford previously oversaw resentencing cases under former DA George Gascón, who in November lost his re-election bid to Hochman. Lunsford, together with Nancy Theberge, last year recommended resentencing the Menendez brothers based on new evidence in their case.

After Hochman took office, Lunsford and Theberge allege they were demoted in retaliation for that recommendation. Lunsford, a 25-year veteran of the DA’s office, was reassigned to “calendar deputy,” while Theberge was sent to the alternate public defender’s office. Lunsford and Theberge intend to sue both Hochman and Lewin for harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

According to Lunsford and Theberge, Lewin allegedly defamed the pair on social media, saying Theberge “had no interest in justice, wanted to let criminals out of jail and was dishonest in her filings with the Court,” and referring to Lunsford as a “quisling,” a term derived from the name of infamous Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling, and used generally to mean traitor or enemy collaborator.

Lewin himself previously sued Gascón along with more than a dozen other prosecutors who were reassigned after the former DA took office. Lewin was moved from Major Crimes to calendar deputy, the same position to which Lunsford was recently assigned.

Last year, Lewin came under fire after it was revealed he had vacationed at the Hamptons mansion owned by Robert Durst’s widow, Debrah Lee Charatan, just months after prosecuting the real estate heir for murder. Lewin famously kept Durst on the stand for nine days of aggressive questioning before his conviction, which may have played into Rocky’s choice not to take the stand himself on Tuesday.

The rapper and fashion mogul shares sons, RZA, 2, and Riot Rose, 1, with pop superstar and beauty mogul Rihanna. He faces a maximum sentence of 24 years in federal prison.