LOS ANGELES — The accuser in the assault trial of A$AP Rocky — partner of pop star Rihanna — told a jury Tuesday the rapper and fashion designer grabbed his collar in a confrontation on a Hollywood street corner four years ago and pulled a gun from his waistband.

What You Need To Know

  • A$AP Rocky's former friend who goes by A$AP Relli will take the stand as a key witness

  • The rapper and partner of Rihanna has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm for allegedly firing at his friend

  • Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, met Relli, born Terell Ephron, in high school in New York when both were part of a crew of creators who called themselves A$AP

  • The defense argues Relli was the aggressor, and Rocky fired a starter pistol to break up a fight between him and another member of their crew

Terell Ephron, formerly known as A$AP Relli, alleges that Rocky — whose real name is Rakim Mayers — fired twice at him on Nov. 6, 2021. The defense contends the gun was a prop from a music video and did not fire bullets.

"He pointed it ... towards my stomach," Ephron testified. "Everything was happening so fast. He was looking for a place to shoot me."

Under questioning by Deputy District Attorney Paul Przelomiec, Ephron continued, "I told him to use it. What you got a gun for? I could not believe he pulled a gun on me."

Ephron said he and the man he called "Rocky" had been friends for 15 years before they had a falling out. Ephron, a former member of Rakim's A$AP Harlem rap crew, said they once were as close as brothers.

Recounting the scuffle, the witness told the downtown Los Angeles jury that Mayers tugged at his collar, and seconds later "the gun came out." Ephron suffered scraped knuckles in the incident. The gun was never recovered, although Ephron contends he retrieved shell casings at the scene of the altercation.

Mayers, 36 — who has two children with Rihanna — has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm stemming from the alleged run-in with his former friend. He could face up to 24 years behind bars if convicted as charged.

Ephron said he realized he was in some kind of trouble with Mayers a day earlier when he overheard a phone conversation between Rocky and another member of the A$AP crew after arriving in Los Angeles from New York.

Ephron said he overheard both sides of the conversation, and listened as Mayers said he didn't like Ephron and wanted nothing to do with him. The witness said he felt tension in the air.

Mayers "didn't know I was there ... listening," said Ephron, who described himself as a talent manager.

Ephron said Tuesday from the witness stand that it was "really hard having a relationship with Rocky ... he lies a lot," and called the A$AP crew — which stands for "Always Strive and Prosper" — "smoke and mirrors."

Mayers showed no response, sitting stonily with his attorneys.

The witness said after arriving at his hotel in Hollywood, he fell asleep and was awakened by an aggressive call from Mayers. Ephron testified that Mayers had said, "Where you at? Let's get to it. Stop ducking my calls."

The hip-hop talent manager said he "would never fight Rocky. I have no reason to," adding that if word got out that the two scuffled, his career "would be over. ... If it came to light that I fought with him, I'm pretty sure nobody would do business with me. He's famous, I'm nobody."

Ephron said the moment news of the alleged assault became public, "everything changed. People knew it was me who pressed charges against Rocky. And people thought I'm doing wrong. My artists no longer wanted to work with me because of the decisions I made. They felt like I don't have any credibility anymore .... or I snitched or something."

Before the start of the trial's second day of testimony, Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold warned attorneys from both sides that there would be no arguments in front of the jury.

"This is a no squabble zone," the judge said.

Joe Tacopina, Mayers' attorney, told the judge earlier that Mayers' "significant other," Rihanna, may appear in the courtroom this week. She was not in attendance Tuesday.

Before Ephron was called to the stand, Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Thomas Zizzo Jr. — son of Erika Jayne, former star of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" — testified that seven police officers used flashlights to search the scene for evidence hours after the reported shooting, but came away empty handed.