Rapper A$AP Rocky blows off second plea deal in gun case after his attorney makes wild 'prop' claim

Rapper A$AP Rocky's transgression proceedings for shooting his erstwhile friend kicked disconnected Tuesday with his lawyer rejecting a 2nd plea deal, claiming the weapon progressive was really a 'prop gun'.

Rocky arrived at the courthouse, maintaining his presumption arsenic a manner icon, arsenic helium made a striking entranceway for the archetypal portion of his proceedings – selecting a 12-person jury. 

The Grammy-nominated instrumentalist wore a long, achromatic leather overgarment implicit a charcoal-gray suit, off-white garment and airy gray, polka dotted tie. He finished disconnected the acceptable with a snazzy brace of polished achromatic leather formal shoes. 

Sporting gold-rimmed glasses, a golden loop earring successful each receptor and wearing his hairsbreadth successful maize rows, helium walked into the courtroom flanked by his ineligible defence team, led by one-time Donald Trump lawyer, Joe Tacopina.

Earlier Tuesday, Rocky, 36, and his ineligible squad had the accidental to judge a plea deal in which helium would plead blameworthy to 1 of the battle charges successful speech for a seven-year suspended sentence, 180 days successful jailhouse and 3 years probation. 

The 2nd felony complaint would person besides been dismissed.

But Tacopina turned down the offer, telling LA Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold that the weapon Rocky changeable ex-buddy Terell Ephron with was really a 'prop gun' – a fake firearm utilized successful movies.

It was the 2nd clip that Rocky's defence lawyers person blown disconnected a prosecution plea deal.

After the archetypal woody was presented past Wednesday, Tacopina told DailyMail.com: 'He did not perpetrate a crime' and called the LA District Attorney's lawsuit against Rocky 'fundamentally weak.' 

In a abstracted country from the plea woody hearing, the process of selecting 12 jurors, positive alternates, from a excavation of much than 100 men and women was underway – it is expected to instrumentality 2 days.

After excusing astir 15 prospective jurors owed to applicable hardships – including effects from the wildfires successful LA – Judge Arnold swore successful the others.

Judge Arnold told them: 'Nobody, nary substance who they are, is entitled to immoderate payment due to the fact that of their presumption successful beingness oregon however overmuch wealth they have, oregon by the aforesaid token cipher is expected to endure immoderate harm by their presumption successful beingness oregon immoderate wealth that they bash oregon don't have.'

Pointing retired Rocky – existent sanction Rakim Mayers – to the jury, helium added, 'Mr. Mayers is an entertainer. His signifier sanction is A$AP rocky. His beingness spouse is besides an entertainer. Her sanction is Rihanna. She is simply a singer, and actress.

'Because Mr. Mayers is an entertainer, a celebrity, that cannot harm him, and it cannot payment him.'

One juror said she was a TV enforcement for galore years and shares a chiropractor with Rihanna. 

She said: 'I deliberation I supported hip-hop artists from 1995 to 2009 successful my profession. I inactive americium attached to the community.'

Judge Arnold asked her: 'Are you consenting to dainty Mr Mayers arsenic you would anybody other who sits successful that chair?' She responded, 'Of course.' 

One juror admitted to Googling the lawsuit and seeing a header arsenic they stood successful the hall, to which Judge Arnold said that specified stories should not infect their judgment.

Judge Arnold besides dismissed a prospective juror who told the tribunal that helium does ‘not fundamentally judge successful the request to person a weapon for backstage use'.

But helium refused to disregard different who said helium was ‘opposed to guns’ aft the imaginable juror admitted that helium ’just wanted to get retired of assemblage duty'.

Once the assemblage is picked, prosecutors and defence attorneys volition marque their opening statements to the court.

Rocky has pleaded not blameworthy to 2 felony charges of battle with a semiautomatic firearm and he's facing up to 24 years successful situation if convicted of both.

The charges arise from a November 2021 confrontation successful Hollywood betwixt Rocky and chap rapper Ephron, whose signifier sanction is A$AP Relli. He was a member, with Rocky, successful the ASAP Mob rap radical that started successful Harlem successful 2006.

Rocky was arrested successful April 2022 astatine LAX airdrome arsenic helium stepped disconnected a backstage level from Barbados wherever helium had been connected abrogation with aggregate Grammy-winner Rihanna, 36. 

He has been escaped connected bail of $550,000 since his arrest.

Rihanna – parent of Rocky's 2 young children – did not show up Tuesday for the assemblage selection.

This is contempt her getting an invitation successful October from Judge Arnold to travel to transgression tribunal to enactment her boyfriend. 

At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented surveillance camera footage and grounds from Ephron and cops to enactment their allegation that during the argument, Rocky pointed a handgun astatine Ephron, past fired it doubly toward him injuring his hand.

Ephron himself testified that Rocky held the weapon to his tummy and said 'I'll termination you close now,' earlier firing disconnected rounds.

Tacopina has challenged the prosecution's case, saying determination wasn't capable impervious that a shooting had adjacent happened and calling the surveillance video grounds and witnesser grounds 'inconclusive'.

Ephron has filed a abstracted civilian battle and artillery suit against Rocky which is connected clasp pending the result of the transgression trial.