A jury from Los Angeles found rapper nominated for Grammy at Rocky not guilty of two serious assault crimes with a semi-automatic weapon in a 2021 altercation with another hip-hop artist in Hollywood.
Rocky, the romantic companion of singer Rihanna and her father of her two children, turned around and jumped to the public after the verdict was read. He hugged the followers while the strong cheers filled the courtroom.
“Thank you all for saving my life,” 12 people told the jury members.
Rocky was accused of pointing a gun to a former friend, Terell Ephron, during a heated argument, then shooting twice in the direction of Ephron during a second confrontation. Both meetings occurred on November 6, 2021.
Ephron said he suffered a minor injury when his knuckles were walking through a bullet.
Rocky’s defense lawyers said that the weapon involved in the incident was a support gun that the artist had used in a music video and only shot blank. They also said that Ephron was the aggressor in the confrontation.
“We want to thank God first,” Rocky told reporters outside the court while standing between Rihanna and his lawyer. “This is crazy at this time.”
“I am grateful and blessed to be here now, to be a free man who talks to you,” he said.
Rihanna appeared in the court a handful of times during the trial. He took the children of the Rza, 2, already Riot, 1, to the courtroom during the closing arguments.
