Canadian rapper, Tory Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, has been found guilty of shooting fellow hip-hop superstar Megan Thee Stallion in 2020.
The verdict
The 30-year-old Canadian was convicted by a jury in Los Angeles of felony negligent discharge of a firearm, assault with a semi-automatic firearm, and carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm.
He faces a sentence of more than 20 years in prison.
Megan Thee Stallion, a Grammy-winning rapper, testified previously that she was shot in the feet after leaving a pool party.
Following a nearly two-week trial, jurors reached a verdict after about seven hours of deliberation over two days. Mr. Lanez, who had been free on bail during the trial after being placed under house arrest, was immediately arrested.
It was unclear whether he intended to file an appeal.
Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, was absent from court and Lanez remained motionless and stared straight ahead as the verdict was read, until his father stood up and began yelling at the judge and prosecutors.
“God will judge you,” he said as bailiffs stepped in front of him.
Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Megan Thee Stallion, said in a statement: “The jury got it right. I am thankful there is justice for Meg.”
Court battle, testimonies
Megan Thee Stallion testified during the trial that she was shot and wounded at a party in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles on July 12, 2020.
Lanez, according to Megan Thee Stallion, became enraged after she disparaged his musical talent. She claimed she demanded to be let out of a luxury car before he opened fire on her.
Tory Lanez, she told the jury, had told her to “dance” before opening fire.
She also testified that he offered her $1 million in exchange for silence about the attack because he claimed to be on probation for a weapons offense. She initially told cops that she cut her feet on glass.
Lanez denied the charges stemming from a dispute with another artist, and his lawyer, George Mgdesyan, unsuccessfully argued that the investigation was flawed.
He said it was Megan Thee Stallion’s friend Kelsey Harris Nicole who had shot her, adding that it was all about “jealousy”.
In a lengthy interview in September, Megan Thee Stallion’s former friend and assistant, Kelsey Harris Nicole, told detectives that Tory Lanez was the shooter. On the night of the incident, she also texted Megan’s bodyguard, saying, “Help, Tory shot Meg.”
However, on the stand, she contradicted her previous statements, claiming she had no idea if Megan Thee Stallion had been shot that night, despite sitting next to her in an SUV.
Prosecutors were then granted permission by the judge to play Ms. Harris’ entire 80-minute interview with detectives from September, during which she implicated Mr. Lanez.
She admitted that Lanez offered her $1 million in the aftermath of the shooting, but she denied it was a bribe and claimed she refused it.
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