Tory Lanez Found Guilty in Megan Thee Stallion Shooting Case
Written by SOURCE on December 24, 2022
Tory Lanez was found guilty on Friday in his highly publicized assault trial, according the The New York Times.
Lanez was found guilty on all three charges, which included assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a concealed and loaded firearm in a vehicle, and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence. Law & Crime’s Meghann Cuniff, who reported that Lanez was remanded into custody after the Los Angeles jury’s guilty verdict was announced, described a chaotic scene that saw family members of the Canadian rapper screaming.
The 30-year-old rapper, legal name Daystar Peterson, was accused of shooting Megan Thee Stallion more than two years ago in Southern California. Prosecutors said the incident took place in July 2020, after he, Megan, and their associates left a house party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood home.
The group had reportedly been traveling in an Escalade when Lanez and Megan, born Megan Pete, began having an argument. The Houston rapper claimed the situation became so heated that she decided to exit the vehicle once it had stopped on a residential street. Megan said it was at that time that Lanez opened fire and wounded her in the feet.
“He was holding the gun pointing at me,” Megan reportedly told the court, adding Lanez had shouted “dance b*tch” before firing five shots. “I froze. I felt shocked. I wasn’t really sure if this was happening … I looked at the ground and saw the blood … everyone was shocked.”
During her emotional testimony, Megan claimed Lanez had apologized for the shooting and offered to pay for her silence.
“‘Please don’t say anything, I’ll give you $1 million,’” she recalled Lanez telling her.
Megan said she obliged and told officers she had injured her feet by stepping on glass. She told the court she was afraid no one would believe her, and was concerned that police would “shoot first” and ask questions later.
“At this time, we were at the height of police brutality and the situation with George Floyd,” Megan said. “… I don’t wanna see anybody die, I don’t wanna die.”
During the trial, Lanez’s legal team acknowledged that Megan had been shot, but claimed it was the rapper’s former assistant, Kelsey Harris, who opened fire. Harris, who was present during the incident, denied shooting Megan, but gave conflicting accounts about what she did and didn’t see on the night of the assault. She previously told authorities she witnessed Lanez shoot Megan, but went on to recant her statement, claiming she had no idea who pulled the trigger. She also denied allegations that Lanez had paid for her silence.
“The entire defense theory is that the reason Megan lied is because it was more convenient from a PR perspective … Make that make sense,” Kathy Ta, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, said in court on Thursday. “It would have been easier for her to say, ‘My crazy assistant did this to me.’ It is much harder for her to come out against Tory.”
Lanez is now facing over 20 years in prison and deportation. He’s scheduled to be sentenced next month on January 27th, 2023, according to TMZ.
“The jury got it right. I am thankful there is justice for Meg,” Megan Thee Stallions’s attorney Alex Spiro said in a statement that was provided to Complex.
