A jury reached a verdict Friday in Tory Lanez‘s assault trial for the 2020 shooting of Megan thee Stallion.
Following two days of deliberations, the Canadian rapper was found guilty of all three charges against him — felony negligent discharge of a firearm, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm. He was handcuffed and remanded into custody on the spot. He is expected to be sentenced on January 27, 2023 and faces more the 22 years in prison and deportation.
The trial, which lasted for more than a week, included testimony from Megan the Stallion, Dr. Lee Haruno, the surgeon who operated on the rapper’s gunshot wounds, Kesley Harris, Megan’s former friend/assistant, responding LAPD Officer Sandra Cabral and Sean Kelly, the eye-witness who called 911, among other key witnesses.
Opening statements began last week with Deputy District Attorneys Alexander Bott and Kathy Ta naming Tory Lanez as the person who shot Megan thee Stallion, legal name is Megan Pete, on the night of July 12, 2020, following an argument that was primarily over the two rappers’ respective careers. Lanez’s defense attorney, George Mgdesyan, argued in the opening that while there was a shooting, his client did not pull the trigger, and instead, Pete’s former friend and assistant, Kelsey Harris, is the triggerwoman who shot the rap star during a “jealous” fight over Lanez.
The Grammy-winning “Savage” artist took the stand following the start of the trial and testified that on the night in question, Tory Lanez fired a handgun at the back of her feet and yelled “dance b—-” after she exited an SUV they had been riding in leaving a party at Kylie Jenner’s home in the Hollywood Hills. She also reiterated claims that he offered her $1 million to keep quiet about the shooting. Elsewhere in her testimony, she said people had made her out to be “the villain” in the case while positioning Lanez as “the victim.”
Harris took the stand on days three and four of the trial after being granted “use immunity.” She provided head-scratching testimony with claims opposite of a recorded interview she had with investigators in September 2022. Rolling Stone reported that while on the witness stand, Harris said she did not see Lanez shoot Megan, although she texted Pete’s manager moments after the gunfire. Harris also told the courtroom she was not truthful during the interview that took place a mere four months ago, where she identified Lanez as the shooter. Jurors heard the 80-minute interview in court on day five of the trial. While on the stand, she invoked her 5th amendment rights when asked if Lanez threatened to shoot her and lied about her accepting hush money.
Dr. Lee Haruno, chief resident in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s orthopedic surgery department, also took the witness stand and explained x-rays of Megan’s injuries while confirming bullet fragments connected with the shooting were still present in her feet.
Sean Kelly, a Hollywood Hills homeowner who called 911 to report a group beating a woman, testified he witnessed some of the incident from his balcony. In a trial twist, Kelly identified Lanez as a gunman but also testified he saw “flashes” that originated with a woman.
Other trial testimony came from responding LAPD Officer Sandra Cabral, Megan’s then-hairstylist EJ King, and firearm experts.
In closing arguments, prosecutors argued Lanez shot Megan because his “massive ego” was “disrespected” because Megan insulted his music career. Tory Lanez’s defense attorney George Mgdesyan continued to argue in closing that the shots in question were actually fired by Harris in a “jealous” fight over Lanez. At the start of the trial, prosecutors said Pete’s bodyguard Justin Edison would also take the stand during the trial, however, in one of several twists in the trial, Edison went missing and later appeared following closing arguments and jury deliberations. Lanez also denied testifying in the trial.
In October 2020, Lanez was charged in the shooting initially with one felony count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm (personal use of a firearm), and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. In December 2022, he was hit with an additional felony count of discharging a firearm with gross negligence, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Megan, in August 2020, named Lanez the shooter in the July 2020 incident. The “NDA” rapper had been leaving Jenner’s party in a vehicle also occupied by Tory Lanez, her former friend/assistant Kelsey Harris and Lanez’s bodyguard Jauquan Smith. The rapper maintained she was shot after she and the Canadian rapper had gotten into an argument and that she initially told responding officers that she stepped on glass out of fear for herself and then-friend Lanez. She also said the country’s history with police brutality also made her fearful, especially during a time when tensions between police and the Black community were high following the killing of George Floyd.
Lanez has maintained his innocence since being accused and pleaded not guilty to all three felony counts in this case.
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