A$AP Rocky has opted not to testify in his trial, which alleges two felony counts of assault involving a semiautomatic firearm. On Tuesday, his defense team rested its case without summoning him to the witness stand. When Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold inquired if he had consulted with his legal team on the matter, the 36-year-old hip-hop sensation responded, "Absolutely, your honor," and affirmed his intention to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. "I assert my right not to testify," Rocky declared.
He departed the courthouse several hours later, after the jury received instructions from the judge. Closing arguments for the three-week-long trial are scheduled for Thursday morning, potentially leading jurors to commence deliberations that afternoon.
On Monday evening, Rocky's attorney, Joe Tacopina, had hinted that either his client would testify on Tuesday or the defense would conclude its presentation. A prosecutor's attorney indicated that they would prepare for the possibility of Rocky's testimony. Prior to the trial, Tacopina had mentioned that Rocky was "eager to share his narrative. He yearned for the chance to do so," but submitting a defendant to a rigorous cross-examination often entails significant risk in criminal proceedings.
Had he been convicted, Rocky faced a maximum sentence of 24 years in prison, having declined a pre-trial plea agreement that could have resulted in just 180 days of incarceration. He would likely have been subjected to an arduous cross-examination by Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, renowned for his relentless questioning that kept real estate heir Robert Durst on the stand for nine days leading to his murder conviction.
The Grammy-nominated musician, fashion tycoon, and actor, who is legally named Rakim Mayers, is the long-term partner of singing superstar Rihanna, with whom he shares two toddler sons. She has intermittently attended the trial, most recently on Friday when they exited the courthouse together, arm-in-arm, for the first time.
Rocky might have testified that the gun he discharged twice — in a scuffle with a former friend on a Hollywood street corner in 2021 — was a starter pistol that only fired blanks, and that he carried it for security purposes. The final trial witness to take the stand was Rocky's tour manager, who became the second close associate to attest that he had possessed the fake firearm.
