The rapper A$AP Rocky pleaded not guilty to charges that he fired a gun at a former friend and collaborator, in an arraignment hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.
The artist had been charged with two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and one count of personal use of a firearm in the November 2021 shooting in Hollywood.
A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, appeared in court in a gray suit and black peacoat alongside defense attorneys Joe Tacopina and Sarah Cohen. The musician left court without making a statement.
Tacopina, however, told reporters that the rapper was looking forward to putting the case behind him. Tacopina said he and his client had not discussed the possibility of conviction.
“We have a lot of evidence that we have a strong suspicion the prosecutors don’t know about,” Tacopina said outside court in downtown Los Angeles.
A$AP Rocky was arrested in November 2022 on accusations he shot his former friend, Terell Ephron. Ephron testified that Rocky pulled a gun on him on 6 November 2021, and later fired shots that grazed his knuckles.
Judge Karla Kerlin set a pre-trial hearing date for 6 March.
In 2019, A$AP Rocky was convicted of assault in Sweden following a fight between his entourage and two other men. He spent a month in jail before the sentence and was not ordered to serve additional time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
