A judge Thursday placed a stay on a hip hop artist’s lawsuit against A$AP Rocky pending the outcome of the rapper’s criminal case, in which he is charged with pulling a gun on a hip hop artist during a 2021 altercation in Hollywood and then firing at him soon afterward.
The 35-year-old entertainer — whose real name is Rakim Mayers — is charged with two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, along with allegations that he personally used a firearm during the pair of confrontations with Terell Ephron the evening of Nov. 6, 2021.
On Thursday, Los Angeles Superior Judge Lisa R. Jaskol placed a stay on Ephron’s civil case in order to protect Mayers’ right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment. Trial of the criminal case is scheduled Sept. 24 and Jaskol set a Nov. 14 status conference for an update on the criminal proceedings. The civil case alleges assault, battery, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
After Mayers’ arraignment Jan. 8, his attorney, Joe Tacopina, told reporters outside the downtown Los Angeles courthouse that the defense hopes the case will indeed go to trial by September, and said his client will be “vindicated.”
“I want to get this done and over so he can start enjoying his family and move on,” Tacopina said. “We’re going to be quiet and we’re going to try this (case) in a courtroom and when we do, facts will come out that show that he’s truly innocent and he’s a victim in this case.”
Mayers — who is free on bond — was arrested in April 2022 at Los Angeles International Airport after arriving on a private plane from Barbados, where he had been on vacation with his then-pregnant girlfriend, singer Rihanna, according to NBC News and TMZ. The couple now has two children.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge M.L. Villar ruled in November there was sufficient evidence to allow the case against Mayers to proceed to trial.
Ephron also is known as A$AP Relli. He additionally has sued Mayers and Tacopina, alleging that they have falsely portrayed him in the media as a liar, a money grabber and a blackmailer. He also filed suit against Mayers in August 2022 stemming from the alleged shooting.
No stay has been placed on the defamation suit. Ephron’s attorneys argued in previous court papers that Mayers is not entitled to a stay of the suit solely on Fifth Amendment grounds.
