A United States of America rapper, A$AP Rocky, will stand trial for twice pulling a gun on a former friend and shooting at him once, a court in Los Angeles ruled Monday.
The 35-year-old, who has two children with R&B star Rihanna, is being prosecuted on two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. He has denied the charges.
The court heard how Terell Ephron, one of the founding members of the A$AP collective, was left slightly injured after the confrontation in Hollywood in November 2021.
At a hearing last week, Ephron, known by his stage name A$AP Relli, said the friendship between the two men had soured, accusing him of abandoning other members of the group, which was founded in New York in 2008.
While A$AP Rocky – whose real name is Rakim Mayers – had gone on to fame and fortune, other members of the collective have descended into poverty and drug use, he said.
After the death of one member of the group, the two men clashed in an encounter partially caught on surveillance camera.
Ephron said Mayers pulled a gun and thrust it towards his stomach, saying “I’ll kill you right now.”
“I just wanted him to hear my side,” Ephron said, adding that Mayers had then shot at him, with the bullet grazing his left hand.
Mayers, who is free on bail, was ordered to be arraigned on January 8.
AFP
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")