Prosecutors balked at suggestion Rihanna might be referred to as A$AP Rocky's wife

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With the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires as a dramatic backdrop, A$AP Rocky’s criminal trial over charges he fired shots at his former friend A$AP Relli on a Hollywood, California, street three years ago is still on track to begin next week.

Mayers, 36, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. If convicted as charged, he faces up to 24 years in prison. 

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark S. Arnold said jury selection will begin Tuesday with Rocky, born Rakim Mayers, ordered to appear in person. Prosecutors said they plan to make one final plea deal offer to Mayers. But the Grammy-nominated rappers’s high-powered defense lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, told Judge Arnold he doesn’t believe his client is interested.

Tacopina, known for representing high-profile clients including Donald Trump, told reporters that he believes the evidence is on his side.

During the hearing, prosecutors balked at the suggestion Rihanna might be referred to as Mayers’ “wife” during trial. Tacopina said she is Mayers’ “common law” wife. The judge said that unless the couple is married in some jurisdiction in the world, she’ll be referred to as his “significant other.”

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