Prosecution in ASAP Rocky case unhappy with children's appearance in court
The prosecution in A$AP Rocky's case have taken issue with Rihanna bringing their children to court and asked the jury to treat him "like any other person".
The prosecution in A$AP Rocky's case have taken issue with Rihanna bringing their children to court.
The rapper is accused of firing a semi-automatic handgun at his former friend A$AP Relli in an altercation in November 2021 and District Attorney John Lewin has advised the jury in the case not to be swayed by the appearance of his sons being brought in to the courtroom by their mother Rihanna last week.
According to PEOPLE, he told the jury: "This is not something you're allowed to consider. We are all responsible for what we do.
"I want to make sure that no matter how famous his [partner] is, no matter how cute his kids are, no matter how much they giggle during closing arguments... he needs to be treated like any other person. Because in the end that's what he's entitled to."
Rihanna and Rocky, both 36 - who have children RZA, two and Riot, 18 months, together - are said to have looked upset during his remarks.
After a break, the judge addressed the comments from Lewin, saying: "From here on out, there should be no mention of Rihanna being in the courtroom or the babies being in the courtroom."
Rocky - whose real name is Rakim Mayers - has pled not guilty to two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in connection with the November 2021 incident, when he said to have allegedly assaulted former friend A$AP Relli aka Terell Ephron.
In court last week, Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec told Judge Mark S. Arnold his office had offered a plea deal with 180 days in county jail if the 'Multiply' hitmaker pleaded guilty to the first count of assault with a semi-automatic firearm.
The agreement also included three years probation, a seven-year suspended jail term, 480 hours of community service and a 52-week anger management scheme, but with the maximum possible sentence being 24 years in prison if he was found guilty, he planned to push for at least 10 to 12 if the star was found guilty.
According to Rolling Stone, when asked if he had reviewed the deal with his team, Rocky - who has two sons with partner Rihanna - said: “Yeah, they spoke to me about it detail. I respectfully decline, thank you.”
The judge told him: “You’re not going to get any special treatment. Your status as an entertainer, your status as the significant other of Rihanna, that’s not going to inure to your benefit, and it’s not going to inure to your harm.
