The man who accused A$AP Rocky of firing a semiautomatic pistol at him has said he will pursue a civil lawsuit, even after the rapper was found not guilty in court earlier this month.
After a nearly month-long trial in Los Angeles, A$AP Rocky was found innocent on all counts by an LA jury after being charged for allegedly firing a gun at his former friend A$AP Relli in the Hollywood area in 2021.
Rocky faced 24 years in prison after the rapper turned down a plea deal for 180 days in jail.
Now, Terell Ephron’s lawyer has appeared remotely at a court hearing in downtown Los Angeles, where she confirmed that the former A$AP Mob member was not abandoning the assault and battery lawsuit that he filed against Rocky in August 2022. A judge then lifted the stay that had placed the civil case on hold. The court set a trial date of January 12, 2026, for the lawsuit.
“We intend to continue litigating this case,” Ephron’s lawyer, Melissa Mikail, told the court. “The standard in a criminal case is much higher than the preponderance of the evidence standard in a civil matter. We still believe that our claims have merit, and we intend on fully litigating them.”
By contrast, Rocky’s civil lawyer James Sargent argued that the claims in Ephron’s lawsuit didn’t deserve a trial. “My position is there’s no longer a basis for them. Mr. Ephron testified in the criminal case as to the facts and circumstances. The jury’s acquittal speaks volumes as to how they valued that testimonial evidence,” Sargent told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William Fahey.
Later, Sargent told Rolling Stone he’s confident Rocky will win again. “The allegations Mr. Ephron raises in this case stem from the same incident that a jury of 12 people rejected wholesale,” he said. “Mr. Ephron testified there, and the jury, in the face of that testimony, returned a complete acquittal. So we look forward to a full vindication of Mr. Mayers in this matter.”
Sargent confirmed that Rocky wouldn’t consider any financial settlement offer. “We look forward to full vindication,” he said. “The plaintiff can take a sober assessment of the outcome of the criminal case and change course.”
In the lawsuit, Ephron alleges Rocky, pulled out a handgun and fired at him during a verbal altercation on the corner of Selma Avenue and Vista Del Mar Avenue on November 6, 2021. During the criminal trial, Ephron told jurors he immediately felt a hot sensation on his left hand and believed a bullet had grazed him. However, under cross-examination, he was combative when confronted with allegations he perjured himself repeatedly.
Rocky had maintained from the start that he was innocent. His lawyer Joseph Tacopina said the rapper admits to pulling the trigger on a firearm he was carrying that night, and that the he fired “two warning shots” from his “starter gun” to break up an alleged fight between Relli and A$AP Illz (real name Illijah Ulanger) – another member of their A$AP Mob collective.
He added that the gun used that night was a “prop gun” from a music video he had filmed months earlier with Rihanna. Due to the gun being a prop, there were no shell casings fired from the firearm.
A crucial turning point in the trial – per Variety – saw Ephron confirm that he was at a shooting range two weeks before the shooting incident. This allowed for Mayers’ lawyers to argue that the two shell casings he found at the crime scene – after police searches of the area came up empty – were planted by Relli.
The jury took less than three hours to decide there wasn’t enough evidence to convict Rocky.
During the criminal trial, the court was told that Ephron sought a $30 million settlement from Mayers to avoid his public lawsuit. They also heard a recorded phone call in which Ephron told a friend that he would disappear to a tropical island and not testify in the criminal case if Rovky paid out.
The next hearing in the civil case will take place on May 28.
Meanwhile, Rocky’s lawyer Joe Tacopina refuted claims that Rihanna brought their two children to court as a “ploy” to win over the jury’s sympathy.
“It was more because it was the last day of the trial… she brought them to court because that could’ve been the last time he’d seen his kids for a decade or more,” saidTacopina. “That’s why she brought them. The prosecutor made a big deal of it in his summation, which I think was a fatal mistake.
“He didn’t want her there. He was very protective of her… But she called me one day and she was like, ‘Joe, wild horses aren’t going to keep me away, so let him know I’m coming and deal with him.’”
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