Canadian rapper Tory Lanez is now a convicted felon after a Los Angles jury found him guilty on three counts of assault with a semiautomatic handgun, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. The verdict comes on the heels of a closely watched trial between him and Megan Thee Stallion, who he shot in both of her feet following an argument in the summer of 2020.
He faces more than 20 years in prison.
Jurors deliberated over the verdict for two days in the trial that lasted almost 14 days. The And This is Just The Intro star had been free on bail following being placed on house arrest. He will remain in custody until his sentencing, which has been scheduled for January 27.
“God will judge you,” Tory Lanez’s father shouted to the judge and jurors after the verdict was read. The 30-year-old rapper, born Daystar Peterson, appeared emotionless and looked ahead as he was taken into custody. Megan Thee Stallion was not present while the verdict was read.
The verdict comes just days after shocking testimony, in which Megan’s ex-best friend, Kelsey Nicole Harris, told jurors she wasn’t sure whether Tory shot her before adding that she wasn’t sure where the gunshot residue found on her hands came from.
When asked where the residue came from she said she didn’t know but “I just know I had it.”
Harris did admit that she was involved in a physical brawl with the WAP star inside the SUV where the alleged dispute happened between Megan and Tory, but suggested that they were drunk and “probably just bumped each other.”
Earlier in the day’s testimony, Megan’s attorneys presented texts Harris sent right after the shooting. The texts revealed that Tory attacked including a message stating “Tory shot Meg.”
But Harris says she either mistakenly sent the texts in a panic or doesn’t remember sending them at all.
Asked whether Tory paid her to keep quiet about the shooting, she responded, “No. I want to make it very clear … Tory didn’t pay me anything.”
Tory’s attorney’s further questioned whether Tory bribed her as she indicated in a September interview regarding the case. “I don’t remember what I said in September,” she said.
Lawyers then proceeded to ask why her story changed from what she told lawyers in September. She said that she was “receiving pressure.” She was then asked from what or whom.
“From everything,” she responded ambiguously.
Defense attorneys then proceeded to ask her who shot Megan.
“I don’t know,” she said. At the time of the shooting, the only members in the vehicle were Harris, Megan, Tory and the driver. There have been no implications that the driver fired the shots, which would mean that the one other people who could of shot Megan were Harris or Tory.
She continued her testimony with one-word answers when asked if she was afraid of Tory.
“No,” she responded.
When asked if she had spoken to Tory, Meg or their attorneys, she said, “No.”
The trial is ongoing.
Background
On July 12, 2020, prosecutors say both Megan The Stallion and Tory Lanez were headed to a club after visiting a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s house.
It was then that the Savage rapper, born Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, said that the Say It rapper disrespected her. She demanded to be let out of the vehicle before he shot at her five times.
Detectives found a trail of blood at the scene of the shooting and a gun that was still “warm to the touch.”
Minutes after the shooting, Megan’s friend, Kelsey Nicole Harris, received a text from Megan stating: “Help… Tory shot Meg,” according to testimony. Shortly after, Lanez “profusely apologized for his actions” and said he was “just too drunk,” Megan’s attorney told jurors.
Prosecutors further claim that Lanez told Megan to “dance” while he shot at her.
Meanwhile, Lanez’s attorney claims that the case is “about jealousy” and said he would prove that Megan’s accusations were not true. The defense team said that Megan initially told doctors her injured feet had been cut on broken glass.
Reports indicate that Megan didn’t immediately reveal that she was shot because she did not want Lanez to get in trouble. But healthcare professionals soon found several bullet fragments in her feet and some still remain, she says.
“Tory shot me. You shot me and you got your publicist and your people… lying… Stop lying,” Megan said on an Instagram Live shortly after the alleged shooting.
Lanez had denied all charges at the time the case was set to go to trial.
