Jury seated in ASAP Rocky assault trial
The rapper is charged with firing a gun at a former friend in 2021.
A jury of five men and seven women was seated on Thursday at the trial of rapper ASAP Rocky, who is charged with firing a gun at a former friend in 2021.
Opening statements at the trial of the 36-year-old hip-hop superstar will likely begin on Friday after the 12 jurors were selected. Four alternates still need to be selected.
Rocky turned down a prosecution plea offer of 180 days in jail to risk years in prison if the jurors find him guilty of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer says he committed no crime.
He opted instead to risk trial on two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, charges that with conviction bring a penalty of up to 24 years in prison.
It took the two sides two and a half days to pick the jurors from a pool of more than a hundred candidates who packed into an LA court. Each had 10 jurors they could excuse without a reason. The defence used seven of their challenges, the prosecution just two.
