LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A friend of A$AP Rocky testified Monday that he cannot remember what the rapper who is on trial for allegedly shooting a gun at a former friend on a Hollywood street four years ago told him about the incident.
Wally Sajimi, who was called to the stand in downtown Los Angeles by the defense as an out-of-order witness in the midst of the prosecution’s case, said he acted as an unofficial “mediator” between Rocky and alleged firearm assault victim A$AP Relli months after the November 2021 altercation.
Sajimi said he offered to testify in order to refute suggestions by Relli last week that recorded calls ostensibly between himself and Relli were fabricated. The New Jersey website designer and social media manager told the jury he is testifying to “clear my name (and) tell the truth.”
Relli testified previously that a recorded voice saying that he would stop his involvement in the criminal case against Rocky as soon as he received a payoff did not belong to him.
Sajimi rigorously denied on Monday that he doctored any part of the two tapes he made in 2022 of telephone conversations with Relli.
The jury then heard a snippet of one of the recordings, allegedly of Relli speaking to Sajimi.
“Once I walk away, when I get my cash, the case will get way weaker,” according to a voice Sajimi insisted was Relli’s. “It’s going to be hard for the DA to find me. Because I’m going to be on another island.”
Sajimi, who said he had previously worked with Relli, but felt closer to Rocky, testified that he made the recordings “to protect myself” — even though he had nothing to do with the alleged assault — and immediately sent the recordings to Rocky when the calls concluded.
Sajimi took the stand after Relli’s multiple day appearance as the key witness in the case ended. Relli frequently appeared angry, refusing to give clear answers to defense questions, and argued often with Rocky’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, even as the judge called for silence.
“I’m not on trial,” Relli said at one point Monday. “I’ve been here for five days, dealing with this man.”
He added, “I’ve been looking stupid for five days.”
Ignoring the judge’s attempt to call for order, Relli took aim at Tacopina.
“You think you’re slick!” he shouted at the attorney. “And I’m on to you! You’re not going to keep tripping me up! You’re not slick!”
Prosecutors have been attempting to persuade the Los Angeles jury that Rocky tried to use street justice and a gun to settle a beef with Relli.
Pop star Rihanna — Rocky’s girlfriend and the mother of the couple’s two children — appeared in court for three days last week to show support for her boyfriend, but did not return Monday.
Relli, a former talent manager whose real name Terell Ephron, alleges that Rocky attacked him on Nov. 6, 2021, pulled a gun and fired twice, causing minor injuries to his left hand.
Tacopina maintains the weapon was a prop gun from a music video that was incapable of firing real ammunition. The gun does not now exist, attorneys said, but Relli insists he found two shell casings on the street at the scene of the altercation hours after police searched the area.
Asked last week whether he believed the gun allegedly handled by Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayer, was a harmless prop, Relli was firm.
“Who’s going to come to a situation with a prop gun?” he responded as the jury looked on.
Rocky’s trial began Jan. 24 after the rapper-turned-fashion designer rejected a plea deal that would have required him to plead guilty to one of two felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and serve six months behind bars.
If convicted of both counts as charged, he would face up to 24 years in prison, according to prosecutors.
In his opening statement, Tacopina accused Relli of being driven by “jealousy, lies and greed,” and alleged that he invented parts of his story of being attacked to bolster an attempt to siphon cash from Rocky.
Rocky was arrested in April 2022 upon returning to Los Angeles from a trip with Rihanna to her native Barbados. Relli filed a lawsuit for assault, battery and emotional distress against Rocky four months later.
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