Rapper A$AP Rocky will stand trial on charges that he fired a gun at a former friend and collaborator outside a Hollywood hotel in 2021, a judge has ruled. 

Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar ruled on Monday that there was enough evidence for a trial at a preliminary hearing, after hearing roughly a day and a half of testimony. 

Rocky has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. His attorney attempted to cast doubt on the case while questioning a police detective.

A$AP Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, is facing up to eight years in jail if convicted of two felony counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm.

He arrived at court Monday wearing a black suit, matching black face mask, black tie with white dots and a floral brooch.

The 35-year-old rap star and father of two children with Rihanna has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he fired a gun at a former friend and collaborator.

Villar said ‘the totality of the video and testimony’ shows there is sufficient evidence for the defendant to go to trial. She emphasized that preliminary hearings have a much lower evidence standard than a trial, and she was only finding probable cause.

Rocky, sitting in the courtroom, showed no visible reaction.

Prosecutors allege that on November 6, 2021, Mayers pointed a gun at Terell Ephron, once known as A$AP Relli, then, during a confrontation, shot at and left Ephron with minor injuries. 

Los Angeles Police Department Detective Frank Flores took the witness stand on Monday and verified videos of the attack presented by the prosecution, reported Rolling Stone. 

Flores testified that surveillance footage showed a gun in the rappers hand, but when pressed by the defense he conceded a weapon was never recovered. 

At an earlier hearing, Ephron testified Mayers held the gun to his stomach and said ‘I’ll kill you right now,’ before firing off rounds and leaving the room.

Ephron said he and the ‘F*****g Problems’ rapper were teenage friends and members of the A$AP collective, a group of New York high school students who sought to make music and pursue other art forms.

He said their friendship continued as Mayers fame grew but began to falter when he started backing out of business ventures.

Prosecutors played surveillance video that appears to show Mayers brandishing a gun and possibly firing it, which his lawyers denied that he did.

The father of Rihanna’s two children was first detained in April last year as he returned to Los Angeles airport from Barbados where he had been on vacation with his then-pregnant girlfriend.

He was later released on $550,000 bail. Officers were seen outside of his LA home, smashing into the gate with a battering ram, before apparently raiding the property. Detectives seized multiple boxes of evidence from the house.

Four months after his arrest, the charges were brought up to felony status, rather than misdemeanor that would have meant only one year of jail time for each count.

In this preliminary hearing, a judge will determine if there is enough evidence to move forward with a trial. 

The rapper is being represented by the same lawyer who is representing former president Donald Trump in his New York criminal case, Joe Tacopina.

In 2019, Trump took a special interest in Mayers after he was arrested for assault in Sweden. 

He was arrested after a fight broke out on the street between his entourage and two men.

Mayers was convicted of assault, issued a suspended prison sentence and required to pay more than $1,000 in damages. He reportedly served a month in jail before his sentence was handed down.

Ahead of Monday’s hearing, the hitmaking duo has been in Las Vegas promoting his Puma collaboration at the F1 races.

In an interview with Complex Magazine the Fashion Killa rapper beamed as he spoke about the accomplishments him and Rihanna have already made.

‘If me and my lady was to collab what could we team up and just, like, just f**ing smash and go crazy on? I think we do a real great job at collaborating making children,’ the musician said. ‘I think that’s our best creation so far.’

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Source: CNN