Rihanna and ASAP Rocky are enjoying some extra family time before the new year.
Rihanna, 35, and Rocky, 35, were photographed wearing matching gray hoodies at the Kemo Sabe store in Aspen, Colorado, with their sons, RZA, 19 months, and Riot, 4 months, in tow.
Their family outing comes just before Rocky (real name Rakim Mayers) is set to stand trial next month for an incident involving former friend ASAP Relli (real name Terell Ephron) that occurred in late 2021.
Rocky was initially taken into police custody in April 2022 after he was accused of firing a semiautomatic handgun at Relli. He was released on $550,000 bail hours after the arrest.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Rocky’s arrest on X (formerly Twitter) at the time, stating that the rapper was allegedly involved in an altercation with an “acquaintance” in November 2021. A handgun was reportedly fired by the suspect, harming the victim who sustained a minor injury. The LAPD reported that Rocky and two other men had apparently left the scene.
In August 2022, Rocky pleaded not guilty, and has since maintained his innocence. He’s currently facing two felony counts of assault with a firearm, and if found guilty, he could receive up to nine years in prison.
Judge M.L. Villar determined during a preliminary hearing in November that there was enough evidence for Rocky to stand trial. The trial is set to begin on January 8, 2024.
“I am certain Rocky will be vindicated of all of this,” the musician’s attorney Joe Tacopina stated after the hearing.
Relli has since filed a separate civil suit against Rocky for assault, battery and emotional distress regarding the incident.
The incident apparently went down after Rocky met up with Relli, wanting “to discuss a disagreement between the two of them,” Relli’s attorneys Jamal Tooson and Brian Hurwitz said to Rolling Stone in August 2022. “Unbeknownst to Mr. Ephron, ASAP Rocky was not just planning for a conversation and came armed with a semiautomatic handgun.”
Rocky allegedly “produced the handgun and intentionally fired multiple shots” at Relli “without provocation, warning or any justification,” per the lawyers.
Rocky’s attorneys denied Relli’s version of what went down.
“Defendant generally denies each and every allegation of the complaint, and specifically denies that Plaintiff has been damaged in any amount or in any way as a result of any act or omission of answering defendant,” the lawyers wrote. “The injuries and/or damages complained of in the complaint, if any, were caused solely, directly and proximately by the negligent and/or intentional acts or omissions of person other than answering defendant.”
