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LOS ANGELES. − A prosecutor at the felony assault trial of A$AP Rocky told jurors during closing arguments Friday that they had to set aside their feelings for the hip-hop star, his superstar partner Rihanna and their two tiny children.
Rihanna came to court shortly after closing arguments began Thursday, and for the first time she brought their two-year-old and one-year-old sons. John Lewin suggested it was an attempt to manipulate jurors.
“They brought in two adorable children yesterday for closing argument,” Lewin said. “They haven’t been here any other time. And you have to ask yourselves why children that age would be here in a situation like this.”
He added: “You are not allowed to consider how this might affect Rihanna and his kids. We are all responsible for our own actions in the world.”
Rihanna was sitting with Rocky’s mother and sister, without the children, on Friday.
Rocky is charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm for allegedly firing two shots at a former friend on a Hollywood street corner in 2021.
Conviction could mean up to 24 years in prison.
Rocky’s attorneys are arguing that he only fired blanks from a prop gun he had picked up for security on a music video shoot.
During his closing argument, lawyer Joe Tacopina took aim at A$AP Rocky’s accuser, who goes by A$AP Relli, casting him as the aggressor and an unreliable liar.
Tacopina showed the jury belligerent text messages from just before the confrontation, later deleted by Relli, in which he urged Rocky to beat him up. The prosecution had shown only Rocky’s angry responses to suggest he started the fight. But it was not the opposing lawyers’ fault, he said.
“Their witness lied to them, lied to police and deleted the messages,” Tacopina said. “He destroyed evidence.” Tacopina showed jurors the transcript of the moment during testimony that he had confronted Relli about the messages.
“At first he said: ‘I don’t recall.’ Then I showed him the messages,” Tacopina said. “What did he say next? His go-to line: ‘It’s fake! It’s fake!’” Tacopina said. “Anything that crushed him was fake.”
He dwelled on how combative Relli was on the stand. − BBC
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter