Rihanna BREAKS SILENCE After A$AP Rocky Is Found Not Guilty In Gun Trial

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00:00Rihanna is speaking out after A$AP Rocky was found not guilty on two felony counts

00:15of assault with a semi-automatic firearm on Tuesday, February 18th.

00:20The Fenty Beauty founder took to her Instagram story shortly after the verdict to share her

00:23reaction to the news.

00:25The glory belongs to God and God alone, thankful, humbled by his mercy," she wrote above an

00:30emoji of praying hands.

00:33Rihanna and A$AP, whose real name is Rakeem Myers, share two children together, two-year-old

00:37RZA and 18-month-old Riot.

00:40During the trial, the singer brought their children to the courtroom.

00:44On Tuesday, the rapper leapt into his longtime partner's arms after the clerk read the verdict.

00:49A jury unanimously found the rapper not guilty

01:02after he was accused of shooting at his former friend, rapper Terrell Ephron, on a Hollywood

01:06street in 2021.

01:08If he had been found guilty, the rapper could have faced up to 24 years in prison.

01:13Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hotchman released a statement following

01:17the verdict, which read in part,

01:18While today's verdict is not the outcome we sought, we respect the jury's decision and

01:22the integrity of our justice system.

01:24Our office remains committed to seeking accountability for those who break the law, no matter their

01:28status or influence.

01:29Fame does not place anyone above the law, and we will not waver in our pursuit of justice

01:33for victims in the community.

01:35Outside of the courtroom, A$AP's lawyer Joe Tacopina spoke to reporters and commented

01:39on the grand gesture the rapper did after the verdict was read.

01:43I didn't realize how athletic he was.

01:44He, uh, in a single leap went over the, uh, went over the jury box, but I mean, uh, the

01:49spectator row, look, that was raw emotion.

01:52That was happiness.

01:53You know, there was a moment where before we heard the words from the clerk, you know,

01:59he didn't know if he was going to be spending the next two decades in jail or going home.

02:04And so when you hear those words, obviously, you know, I know how he was feeling.

02:08We've been in communication the last few hours and it's a lot on the line.

02:12He has two little children.

02:13Um, he's got a beautiful wife and he's got a family.

02:17And so it was, it was, that was raw emotion.

02:19You guys got to see that.

02:20And uh, you know, it was even for us, I mean, it was, it was insane.

02:25Um, so it was just very, very satisfying.

02:27Well, they promised their third kid would be named A$AP Joe.

02:30So that's as far as I know, um, you know, what's next is they're going to move on.

02:36I mean, they have a lot of great things professionally to do.

02:38Um, you know, Rocky's really at the height of his career.

02:42Um, he's worked with Gucci, he's worked with Puma, he's got a lot of things going.

02:46Obviously Rihanna is on top of the world and uh, they have two beautiful, beautiful children

02:51and they have a family and you saw them come together.

02:53And you know, I took offense to the prosecutor Lewin saying that they manufactured some sort

02:59of appearance of a family, um, in his summation.

03:02But I think the jury obviously took offense to that too.

03:04They're a family and they were a family and that's why she was here to support him and

03:07that's why his kids came.

03:08Uh, he doesn't know when he's going to see them again and if this didn't go well for

03:11him, not that I thought it wasn't going to, um, you know, so that was, it was just beautiful

03:16to see.

03:17You know, that's what we do.

03:18You know, we work hard and, and these trials are hard and they tax us and you don't sleep.

03:22But at the end of the day, this is what it's all about.

03:24That's why I went to law school.

03:25That's why he went to law school.

03:26So you see this and it makes it all worthwhile.

03:29Dude, he was way calmer than I was.

03:31I mean, he was calming me down.

03:33So like I was more anxious and nervous, I mean, but that's always the way it is for

03:37me.

03:38Um, you know, when, when something so important is about to happen.

03:41So he was, he was really calm, cool, collected at the end, obviously when that jury started

03:46piling in and you know, you can't read anyone's faces.

03:49Um, you know, there was a tension that he said, I can't breathe.

03:54And I said, neither can I.

03:55So that makes two of us and Chad and I've been together 22 years.

03:59I know how he feels.

04:00So it's, uh, it's just a moment of incredible, um, angst.

04:06But when you have something like this happen, it makes it all worthwhile.

04:09It's great.

04:10The key evidence, uh, the fact that there was no evidence, I think that was the key

04:13evidence.

04:14I think relying on Terrell Efron for any matter of importance in your life, a decision on

04:19a matter of importance in your life would not be possible for anyone with a brain.

04:24And the jury clearly understood that argument.

04:26And then when I pointed out to the jury that I got detective Flores, their lead detective

04:30to say without, without Efron's testimony, there's no evidence of a shooting one way

04:35or another that could be or that cannot be.

04:38That really was it.

04:39You know, I left 10 questions for John Lewin to answer.

04:41He didn't even look at one.

04:42Um, and those were 10 important questions, including number nine, which was without Efron's

04:46testimony as the prosecutor asked, detective Flores acknowledged that there's not enough

04:53evidence in this case to say that definitively there was a shooting.

04:55So I was surprised he didn't touch those questions, but I knew he couldn't answer them and that's

04:59why I put them up there.

05:00So anyway, um, I think that's why the jury came in and look, it was a quick verdict,

05:04right?

05:05I mean, they started almost 10 o'clock, they had a lunch break, they listened, they watched

05:08the video and they had a verdict.

05:10So yeah, for a four, basically four week trial, um, we were, when I heard there was a verdict,

05:15I felt pretty good, not so overly confident cause you just never know, but I felt pretty

05:19good.

05:20I've been here for over a month and, and just me walking around me.

05:24I'm not him, right?

05:26People were just wishing me luck for him.

05:28I mean, he's loved, um, very well loved in the city and, and I think, you know, he's

05:33got a lot of fans and, and that doesn't happen because he's a singer.

05:36It happens because who he is as a person.

05:38A lot of what destroyed in here was who, who, who ASAP really is, who ASAP Rocky is as a

05:43person.

05:44He does incredible charity work.

05:45He gives back to the community.

05:46He's, he's really, he's become a dear friend of mine more than a client.

05:51And that's why cases like this are really difficult for me because there's so much on

05:54the line.

05:55I mean, I care about every client I represent to the point where they become family.

05:59This was at a different level and so I was just not prepared for, I would not accept

06:04any other verdict than this one.

06:05He and I have bonded, he and I have bonded over the last three years, um, in a way that,

06:10you know, and he's just a different person.

06:12I attribute that to him, the way he conducts himself, the way he's so appreciative with

06:16us, um, the way he is with his, I mean, I spent time with him and Rihanna at their house

06:23and they're just, you know, as humble and as can be for people with that level of success,

06:28they just, they are really sweet, good people.

06:31And um, I would have been really, really hurting if this didn't go the right way.

06:36But you know, thank God that jury, we had a great jury.

06:38Speaking of family, do you think the jury seeing ASAP with Rihanna as a family man and

06:43their children helped his defense?

06:44No, I don't think that helped his defense at all.

06:46Look, everyone knows he had Rihanna.

06:49Everyone knows he has two kids.

06:50Sorry.

06:51I mean, I don't think the jury's like, all right, we think he's guilty, but look at the

06:54kids.

06:55I mean, so that's, you know, I'm glad the prosecutor focused on that in their summation.

06:58We didn't.

06:59Um, we, we, the evidence in this case was deficient.

07:03I think that they need to be going after Tarell Efron.

07:06As I've always said, he was an extortionist.

07:09He was someone who we showed committed extortion.

07:12The tape that one of you all said was really good for the prosecution that we brought in

07:17turned out not to be so good for the prosecution.

07:21It was him repeating the same story that he'd repeated since day one.

07:24But what it had on there was one, him committing perjury to this jury and two, him acknowledging

07:28he wanted $30 million and he disappeared to an island.

07:31That's called extortion.

07:32For what?

07:33To get his $697 he has in his bank account, even though if you look on Instagram, he's

07:38a billionaire.

07:39Um, but you know, I'm not suing Relly.

07:41I have other things in life to do.

07:43Um, you know, he, he sued us and after today, I don't think that's going so well.

07:49So, um, but anyway, look, I'm just happy the jury came to the right conclusion swiftly.

07:54You know, who knows what made a difference?

07:55I mean that jury, I did, they were able to speak to you guys if they want to.

07:59I don't know if they're going to, um, both ways the gun wasn't presented, right?

08:03Our gun, the gun that Rocky actually had the prop or, um, the gun that the prosecution

08:08said he had, um, wasn't produced.

08:10So I think it was a, it's a wash so to speak.

08:12I think the jurors had to go on the evidence that they had, right?

08:15They can't speculate.

08:17They had evidence in this case.

08:20Most of the incriminating evidence came from the words of someone who's, as I said, whose

08:25tongue is a stranger to the truth, you know, is an admitted perjurer, admitted liar.

08:30Um, so I, I just don't think any, any jury could embrace that.

08:34And if you can't believe Tyrell Efron in this case, you can't commit.

08:39It was that simple.

08:40Yeah.

08:41I think that was a great bonding experience for them personally.

08:43I mean, I've known them for a while.

08:44Um, Rihanna is, it's an amazing woman, um, strong woman.

08:49Um, and she obviously was there to support him.

08:52She'd always been in touch with me throughout the process to make sure things were going

08:55well and privately wanted reassurance.

08:58Um, but she was here, wild horse.

09:01Rocky did not want her here.

09:02I will tell you that.

09:03I think I said it to you in the beginning.

09:04He did not want her here.

09:05He wants to shield her from this.

09:08Wild horses couldn't keep her away.

09:09So, you know, this, this, you go through something like this as a family, it brings

09:13you closer.

09:14Um, it's a bonding experience and they are just two special people.

09:17Um, so I, I can't imagine this has been anything but a life altering experience for them.

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