LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� In a stretch of questioning crucial to the defense of , his lawyer on Friday challenged the account of his accuser, who said he suffered a hand injury when the hip-hop performer fired a gun at him in 2021.
, Rocky鈥檚 partner and the mother of their two children, watched from the audience as the man who goes by A$AP Relli, a former friend of Rocky, underwent a second day of cross-examination at the Los Angeles trial that left him visibly frustrated and at times angry.
She slipped into court for a third day about 30 minutes into the testimony and sat next to Rocky鈥檚 mother after coming in through a public entrance. After the lunch break, she entered the courtroom together with Rocky for the first time. She had been brought in privately, out of view of the public, on her previous visits.
Relli had testified under prosecution questioning that his hand felt hot when Rocky fired at him on a Hollywood street and his hand was grazed. A photo was shown of scrapes that had torn the skin on his knuckles.
He did not seek medical attention until two days later in New York.
鈥淵ou waited to fly all the way across country before seeking medical attention?鈥� defense attorney Joe Tacopina asked.
鈥淚 had my hand wrapped that night,鈥� Relli said, then acknowledged he had.
He said that after the incident, 鈥淚 didn't trust LA. I didn't trust nobody.鈥�
Rocky's attorneys contend that Relli only sought medical attention because the lawyer in a separate civil case where he's seeking money from the rapper, told him he should.
Relli at first denied that he had been acting on his lawyer's advice, but later conceded after hearing his previous testimony.
鈥淵ou really don鈥檛 care about getting the police involved, your endgame was getting money from Rocky, correct?鈥� Tacopina asked.
Relli answered, 鈥淣o. I wanted protection. I wasn鈥檛 sure it wouldn鈥檛 happen again.鈥�
Tacopina also challenged him about the short time he spent at the hospital.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one hour and 36 minutes for a gunshot, yeah?鈥� the lawyer said.
鈥淚t was two days later,鈥� Relli replied.
Anticipating the defense tactic, the prosecution told jurors during their opening statement that for the 鈥� two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm 鈥� it doesn't matter whether Relli was injured.
Guilty findings on both counts could lead to a maximum of 24 years in prison for Rocky.
That verdict could be a major turning point in the life of the rapper, who this weekend is nominated for his third at a ceremony at Crypto.com Arena just two miles from the trial.
Relli appeared angry and frustrated throughout the testimony. He repeatedly asked if questions were relevant, muttered to himself, and had to be instructed by the judge to answer 鈥測es鈥� or 鈥渘o.鈥� After listening to three different recordings of phone calls the defense said were him, he declared two of them were fake and said the third didn't sound like him.
Tacopina asked if that one, in which Relli allegedly said he would walk away from the criminal case if he was paid millions, was also fake.
鈥淚 don't know, you tell me!鈥� Relli said. 鈥淵ou're the one putting all this stuff in front of me.鈥�
The calls all came from someone named Wally, who recorded them. Relli at first said he didn't know him, then said he knew of him, then he said the person calls him all the time.
鈥淗e always hits me up asking me how I'm doing,鈥� Rocky said. 鈥淣ow I know why.鈥�
But he kept insisting under questioning that the calls played in the courtroom were fake.
The defense ended its cross-examination after scoring those points.
Rocky's attorneys are arguing, in a revelation made just before the trial began, that the gun he fired was a starter pistol that carried only blanks that he had just as a prop for security. They allege Relli knew this.
Relli testified under prosecution questioning that he had not known Rocky to carry a gun.
When Tacopina returned to the question, Relli hedged.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really chill with him every day, I don鈥檛 know,鈥� he said. 鈥淔rom the time I chill with him, I don鈥檛 know him carrying guns.鈥�
Tacopina continued, 鈥淲ell one thing you know, is for sure he doesn't carry a prop gun.鈥�
鈥淲ho carries a prop gun?鈥� Relli answered. 鈥淲ho鈥檚 going to come to a situation and carry a prop gun?鈥�
After the jury was dismissed for lunch, a vicious argument broke out between Tacopina and Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, who shouted that the defense's entire case failed to address the actual incident, including 鈥渢his prop gun garbage!鈥�
鈥淥h?! Oh!?鈥� Tacopina shouted back. 鈥淲e'll see what the jury says at the end!"
Tacopina then called Relli a perjurer, and said that the prosecutors were abetting him.
As it got even louder and more personal, the judge, who seemed disgusted, walked out.
He had previously instructed the men, who have butted heads often, only to talk to each other on the record. In this case they were, though the cameras had been turned off.
Rocky and Rihanna, both 36, have two sons together: 2-year-old RZA Athelston Mayers and 1-year-old Riot Rose Mayers.
Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
