Rocky is found not guilty in his felony gun trial, celebrates with Rihanna

The verdict was handed down on Feb. 18 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles. The 36-year-old rapper, actor and designer, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, dove into the arms of Rihanna when the news was announced, according to the Associated Press. The courtroom erupted in celebration.

Rihanna — a fixture in court during the trial, bringing the couple’s two sons, RZA, 2, and Riot Rose, 1, to closing arguments on Feb. 13 — sat between Mayers’s mother, Renee Black, and sister, Erika B. The three women embraced and sobbed after the news.

Mayers, who faced a maximum sentence of 24 years in state prison, also hugged his lawyers and told jurors as they walked out of the courtroom, “Thank y’all for saving my life.”

Outside court, Mayers and Rihanna put on a united front. He told the crowd of reporters and onlookers, “This whole experience has been crazy for the past four years. I’m thankful, and it’s blessed to be here right now, to be a free man talking to y’all.”

After the verdict, Rihanna posted an Instagram story, writing, “The glory belongs to God and God alone. Thankful, humbled by his mercy!

Mayers, who did not testify, was charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm stemming from a confrontation with his high school friend Terell Ephron, who goes by A$AP Relli, on Nov. 6, 2021, in Hollywood. The trial began on Jan. 24 and was presided over by Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold.

This wouldn’t have been Rocky’s first time in prison. He was arrested at age 16 on attempted murder charges and spent two weeks in Rikers Island in New York City before the charges were reduced and he was released. He was also arrested for assault in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2019 and jailed. He was found guilty in the case that drew national attention, but had been released by that point and was not sentenced to additional jail time.

Just prior to the start of the trial, Mayers rejected a deal from prosecutors of a six-month jail sentence.

Ahead of the verdict, defense attorney Joseph Tacopina told TMZ that the case “should be a five-minute acquittal.”