Rihanna BREAKS SILENCE After A$AP Rocky Is Found Not Guilty In Gun Trial
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00:00Rihanna is speaking out after A$AP Rocky was found not guilty on two felony counts
00:15of assault with a semi-automatic firearm on Tuesday, February 18th.
00:20The Fenty Beauty founder took to her Instagram story shortly after the verdict to share her
00:23reaction to the news.
00:25The glory belongs to God and God alone, thankful, humbled by his mercy," she wrote above an
00:30emoji of praying hands.
00:33Rihanna and A$AP, whose real name is Rakeem Myers, share two children together, two-year-old
00:37RZA and 18-month-old Riot.
00:40During the trial, the singer brought their children to the courtroom.
00:44On Tuesday, the rapper leapt into his longtime partner's arms after the clerk read the verdict.
00:49A jury unanimously found the rapper not guilty
01:02after he was accused of shooting at his former friend, rapper Terrell Ephron, on a Hollywood
01:06street in 2021.
01:08If he had been found guilty, the rapper could have faced up to 24 years in prison.
01:13Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hotchman released a statement following
01:17the verdict, which read in part,
01:18While today's verdict is not the outcome we sought, we respect the jury's decision and
01:22the integrity of our justice system.
01:24Our office remains committed to seeking accountability for those who break the law, no matter their
01:28status or influence.
01:29Fame does not place anyone above the law, and we will not waver in our pursuit of justice
01:33for victims in the community.
01:35Outside of the courtroom, A$AP's lawyer Joe Tacopina spoke to reporters and commented
01:39on the grand gesture the rapper did after the verdict was read.
01:43I didn't realize how athletic he was.
01:44He, uh, in a single leap went over the, uh, went over the jury box, but I mean, uh, the
01:49spectator row, look, that was raw emotion.
01:52That was happiness.
01:53You know, there was a moment where before we heard the words from the clerk, you know,
01:59he didn't know if he was going to be spending the next two decades in jail or going home.
02:04And so when you hear those words, obviously, you know, I know how he was feeling.
02:08We've been in communication the last few hours and it's a lot on the line.
02:12He has two little children.
02:13Um, he's got a beautiful wife and he's got a family.
02:17And so it was, it was, that was raw emotion.
02:19You guys got to see that.
02:20And uh, you know, it was even for us, I mean, it was, it was insane.
02:25Um, so it was just very, very satisfying.
02:27Well, they promised their third kid would be named A$AP Joe.
02:30So that's as far as I know, um, you know, what's next is they're going to move on.
02:36I mean, they have a lot of great things professionally to do.
02:38Um, you know, Rocky's really at the height of his career.
02:42Um, he's worked with Gucci, he's worked with Puma, he's got a lot of things going.
02:46Obviously Rihanna is on top of the world and uh, they have two beautiful, beautiful children
02:51and they have a family and you saw them come together.
02:53And you know, I took offense to the prosecutor Lewin saying that they manufactured some sort
02:59of appearance of a family, um, in his summation.
03:02But I think the jury obviously took offense to that too.
03:04They're a family and they were a family and that's why she was here to support him and
03:07that's why his kids came.
03:08Uh, he doesn't know when he's going to see them again and if this didn't go well for
03:11him, not that I thought it wasn't going to, um, you know, so that was, it was just beautiful
03:16to see.
03:17You know, that's what we do.
03:18You know, we work hard and, and these trials are hard and they tax us and you don't sleep.
03:22But at the end of the day, this is what it's all about.
03:24That's why I went to law school.
03:25That's why he went to law school.
03:26So you see this and it makes it all worthwhile.
03:29Dude, he was way calmer than I was.
03:31I mean, he was calming me down.
03:33So like I was more anxious and nervous, I mean, but that's always the way it is for
03:37me.
03:38Um, you know, when, when something so important is about to happen.
03:41So he was, he was really calm, cool, collected at the end, obviously when that jury started
03:46piling in and you know, you can't read anyone's faces.
03:49Um, you know, there was a tension that he said, I can't breathe.
03:54And I said, neither can I.
03:55So that makes two of us and Chad and I've been together 22 years.
03:59I know how he feels.
04:00So it's, uh, it's just a moment of incredible, um, angst.
04:06But when you have something like this happen, it makes it all worthwhile.
04:09It's great.
04:10The key evidence, uh, the fact that there was no evidence, I think that was the key
04:13evidence.
04:14I think relying on Terrell Efron for any matter of importance in your life, a decision on
04:19a matter of importance in your life would not be possible for anyone with a brain.
04:24And the jury clearly understood that argument.
04:26And then when I pointed out to the jury that I got detective Flores, their lead detective
04:30to say without, without Efron's testimony, there's no evidence of a shooting one way
04:35or another that could be or that cannot be.
04:38That really was it.
04:39You know, I left 10 questions for John Lewin to answer.
04:41He didn't even look at one.
04:42Um, and those were 10 important questions, including number nine, which was without Efron's
04:46testimony as the prosecutor asked, detective Flores acknowledged that there's not enough
04:53evidence in this case to say that definitively there was a shooting.
04:55So I was surprised he didn't touch those questions, but I knew he couldn't answer them and that's
04:59why I put them up there.
05:00So anyway, um, I think that's why the jury came in and look, it was a quick verdict,
05:04right?
05:05I mean, they started almost 10 o'clock, they had a lunch break, they listened, they watched
05:08the video and they had a verdict.
05:10So yeah, for a four, basically four week trial, um, we were, when I heard there was a verdict,
05:15I felt pretty good, not so overly confident cause you just never know, but I felt pretty
05:19good.
05:20I've been here for over a month and, and just me walking around me.
05:24I'm not him, right?
05:26People were just wishing me luck for him.
05:28I mean, he's loved, um, very well loved in the city and, and I think, you know, he's
05:33got a lot of fans and, and that doesn't happen because he's a singer.
05:36It happens because who he is as a person.
05:38A lot of what destroyed in here was who, who, who ASAP really is, who ASAP Rocky is as a
05:43person.
05:44He does incredible charity work.
05:45He gives back to the community.
05:46He's, he's really, he's become a dear friend of mine more than a client.
05:51And that's why cases like this are really difficult for me because there's so much on
05:54the line.
05:55I mean, I care about every client I represent to the point where they become family.
05:59This was at a different level and so I was just not prepared for, I would not accept
06:04any other verdict than this one.
06:05He and I have bonded, he and I have bonded over the last three years, um, in a way that,
06:10you know, and he's just a different person.
06:12I attribute that to him, the way he conducts himself, the way he's so appreciative with
06:16us, um, the way he is with his, I mean, I spent time with him and Rihanna at their house
06:23and they're just, you know, as humble and as can be for people with that level of success,
06:28they just, they are really sweet, good people.
06:31And um, I would have been really, really hurting if this didn't go the right way.
06:36But you know, thank God that jury, we had a great jury.
06:38Speaking of family, do you think the jury seeing ASAP with Rihanna as a family man and
06:43their children helped his defense?
06:44No, I don't think that helped his defense at all.
06:46Look, everyone knows he had Rihanna.
06:49Everyone knows he has two kids.
06:50Sorry.
06:51I mean, I don't think the jury's like, all right, we think he's guilty, but look at the
06:54kids.
06:55I mean, so that's, you know, I'm glad the prosecutor focused on that in their summation.
06:58We didn't.
06:59Um, we, we, the evidence in this case was deficient.
07:03I think that they need to be going after Tarell Efron.
07:06As I've always said, he was an extortionist.
07:09He was someone who we showed committed extortion.
07:12The tape that one of you all said was really good for the prosecution that we brought in
07:17turned out not to be so good for the prosecution.
07:21It was him repeating the same story that he'd repeated since day one.
07:24But what it had on there was one, him committing perjury to this jury and two, him acknowledging
07:28he wanted $30 million and he disappeared to an island.
07:31That's called extortion.
07:32For what?
07:33To get his $697 he has in his bank account, even though if you look on Instagram, he's
07:38a billionaire.
07:39Um, but you know, I'm not suing Relly.
07:41I have other things in life to do.
07:43Um, you know, he, he sued us and after today, I don't think that's going so well.
07:49So, um, but anyway, look, I'm just happy the jury came to the right conclusion swiftly.
07:54You know, who knows what made a difference?
07:55I mean that jury, I did, they were able to speak to you guys if they want to.
07:59I don't know if they're going to, um, both ways the gun wasn't presented, right?
08:03Our gun, the gun that Rocky actually had the prop or, um, the gun that the prosecution
08:08said he had, um, wasn't produced.
08:10So I think it was a, it's a wash so to speak.
08:12I think the jurors had to go on the evidence that they had, right?
08:15They can't speculate.
08:17They had evidence in this case.
08:20Most of the incriminating evidence came from the words of someone who's, as I said, whose
08:25tongue is a stranger to the truth, you know, is an admitted perjurer, admitted liar.
08:30Um, so I, I just don't think any, any jury could embrace that.
08:34And if you can't believe Tyrell Efron in this case, you can't commit.
08:39It was that simple.
08:40Yeah.
08:41I think that was a great bonding experience for them personally.
08:43I mean, I've known them for a while.
08:44Um, Rihanna is, it's an amazing woman, um, strong woman.
08:49Um, and she obviously was there to support him.
08:52She'd always been in touch with me throughout the process to make sure things were going
08:55well and privately wanted reassurance.
08:58Um, but she was here, wild horse.
09:01Rocky did not want her here.
09:02I will tell you that.
09:03I think I said it to you in the beginning.
09:04He did not want her here.
09:05He wants to shield her from this.
09:08Wild horses couldn't keep her away.
09:09So, you know, this, this, you go through something like this as a family, it brings
09:13you closer.
09:14Um, it's a bonding experience and they are just two special people.
09:17Um, so I, I can't imagine this has been anything but a life altering experience for them.