Not Guilty!

A suit and tie makes a difference.

Rapper and media personality was found not guilty in an aggressive assault with a deadly weapon case. He is not spared from the civil lawsuits he may face when the victim sues him. He had two felonies after he was accused of shooting at a former bandmate.

A$AP Rocky embraced longtime girlfriend Rihanna as the California Superior Court of Los Angeles read his verdict.

Rakim Athelaston Mayers, 36, embraced supporters in the gallery, as well as his attorneys, after the verdict was read in the courtroom Tuesday, eliciting loud cheers from some in attendance.

"First of all, we want to thank God," he said outside Los Angeles Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles. "We really want to thank the jury for making the right decision."

He added: "We’re blessed to be here right now, to be a free man talking to y’all."

The jury cleared Mayers following a three-week trial during which Los Angeles County prosecutors painted him as an aggressive attacker who shot his childhood friend, rapper Terell Ephron, over a disagreement.

Mayers could have faced up to 24 years in prison, but prosecutors only sought 8 years.

A$AP Rocky escapes another one.

“This is not a difficult case,” Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec said in his closing argument Thursday. “The question for you to answer in this case boils down to really just one question. ... And that is did Mr. Mayers, the man at the table, did he use a real gun or did he use a fake gun. Was it a real gun or was it a fake gun? Nothing else is in dispute.”

The defense argued that Ephron, who goes by the name A$AP Relli, was envious of the hip-hop star and had assaulted him twice on the night of the shooting. Attorney Joe Tacopina said in his closing arguments that Mayer carried a prop gun when he did not have security and fired to stop Ephron from attacking one of their friends.

Rihanna, Mayers’ partner, was seen arriving to court with their two children ahead of Thursday’s closing arguments, according to video obtained by TMZ. She returned to court on Friday.

The rapper pleaded not guilty and decided not to take the stand at his trial. He also turned down a pre-trial plea deal that would have led to 180 days in jail.

"I want my right not to testify," he told Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold last week.

Following the verdict, his lawyer, Chad Seigel, stood alongside the rapper outside court as a crush of reporters jostled for space near the pair.

"We’re grateful to the jury," the lawyer said. "They saw through this mirage of a case."

Seigel added that his client "turned down a plea for no jail time because he was innocent."

A$AP Felli testifies that Rocky shot him after a dispute.

Fellow defense counsel Joe Tacopina, speaking outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, said evidence was lacking in the case.

"There's not enough evidence in this case to say definitively there was a shooting," he said.

Tacopina said Rihanna's appearance in court wasn't a publicity stunt but a symbol of the couple's dedication to each other and their family.

Prosecution started under former L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón and continued under successor Nathan Hochman, who said Tuesday’s result won’t dissuade him from prosecuting celebrities when necessary.

“While today’s verdict is not the outcome we sought, we respect the jury’s decision and the integrity of our justice system,” Hochman said in a statement. “Our office remains committed to seeking accountability for those who break the law, no matter their status or influence. Fame does not place anyone above the law.”

Mayers and other members of his A$AP rap collective were walking near a Hollywood hotel when Mayers allegedly pulled a semiautomatic pistol from his waistband, pointed it toward Ephron, and said, "I'm going to kill you," prosecutors said. The two were meeting to settle a dispute. Mayers was accused of firing twice in Ephron's direction. He told police that he believed one of the bullets grazed his hand.

RiRi was spotted in the court during the whole ordeal.

Ephron testified that Mayers was aiming down when he fired the first shot.

"When he shot the first shot, I felt my hand hot, so I grabbed [A$AP] Illz, used him as a shield. He's going around trying to shoot me between Illz," Ephron said to the court, referring to another member of the rap collective. "I'm just trying not to get hit at this point."

Ephron said Mayers was running toward him the second time he shot.

"He's running and shooting," Ephron testified.

A$AP Twelvyy, whose real name is Jamel Phillips, testified that Mayers carried a prop gun because he had been the victim of violent incidents, including home invasions and a stabbing in 2018.

"I know he had to get a whole new security staff. And also I know he walked around with a prop gun, like a starter pistol," Phillips said.

Rocky escapes the iron college for now.

He accused Ephron of being the aggressor, claiming he grabbed and shook Mayers on the night of the shooting. Phillips testified that when Mayers pulled the weapon, Ephron allegedly said, "Shoot that fake ... gun."

Rocky’s tour manager, the final witness to testify, also said it was a prop gun.

The crowd outside the court following Tuesday's verdict included some supporters elated by the jury's not guilty determination.

“He’s got a lot of fans,” Tacopina, the defense counsel, said. “That doesn’t happen because he’s a singer. That happens because of who he is as a person.”

President Donald J. Trump in his first term managed to save Rocky from seeing a 15 year sentence in Sweden. 

Mayers was arrested initially for aggravated, then for simple assault in Stockholm, Sweden, after an altercation in the street against a man named Mustafa Jafari and another person that involved Mayers and three of his entourage on June 30. Jafari was beaten, kicked, and cut with broken bottles when down on the ground. He suffered several cuts, requiring stitches, and a fractured rib. Mayers uploaded two videos of the incident to Instagram. In the first, he and his entourage repeatedly ask two young men, including Jafari, to stop following them as the latter complains about his headphones. In the other, created from footage of assorted events, Jafari's headphones break during a scuffle, and he is seen hitting Mayers’ bodyguard with them. A woman is also seen in the video, accusing the two men of groping. Henrik Olsson Lilja, the defense attorney for Mayers, maintained that his client acted in self-defense after being attacked by Jafari.

Mayers’ bodyguard filed a counter-complaint against Jafari, and Jafari was initially suspected of harassment and minor assault or possibly attempted assault. The investigation against Jafari was dropped as prosecutors said he acted in self-defense, after being grabbed by the neck and pushed by the bodyguard. Mayers was arrested after being allowed to finish his gig at Stadion. As it was judged there was a risk that he may flee or tamper with evidence, he was kept in custody at Kronoberg Remand Prison until the trial, with two members of his entourage also under arrest. Mayers’ ongoing tour was then put on hiatus due to the trial.

He was visited by personnel from the US embassy shortly after his arrest. Several US artists called for a boycott of Sweden due to the incident. A petition to release him was started. The family asked Al Sharpton for help. US President Donald Trump tweeted his support for Mayers, and it was later revealed by justice minister Morgan Johansson that Trump had threatened trade restrictions against Sweden if Mayers was not released. Former US ambassador to Sweden Mark Brzezinski suggested that the government should intervene and speculated that racism may have been the cause of the brawl. Foreign minister Margot Wallström said the government is not allowed to interfere citing Chapter 11 §3 of the Swedish constitutional Instrument of Government which explicitly forbids the interference of politicians, or unrelated government offices, in the work of the courts of law.

Mayers was convicted of assault, given a suspended prison sentence and asked to pay 12,500 kr ($1,270) in damages to the victim. The court could not decide who used the bottle, but said it was not a case of self-defense. As Mayers had already served over a month in jail for the incident before the sentence was handed out, it was determined that he did not need to serve any additional time. The conviction does not bar him from returning to Sweden.