Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years in Megan Thee Stallion shooting case
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Rapper Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion on Tuesday by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Herriford.
Lanez addressed the court for several minutes, according to legal journalist Meghann Cuniff. "He said he still cares about Megan. He called her 'someone I still care for dearly to this day' regardless of what she may think of him," she shared on social media. "He said 'the victim's my friend.' He talked about bonding with her over the loss of their mothers."
The sentencing was delayed several times as the 31-year-old Canadian rapper, real name Daystar Peterson, sought new legal counsel and filed a motion for a new trial, which was ultimately denied. Then, what journalists and legal experts expected to be a sentencing handed out on Monday morning turned into two full days in court in which the judge allowed dozens of letters and statements.
These included a written statement from Megan, who said she had "not experienced a single day of peace" since the shooting, as well as multiple witnesses urging the judge to go light on Lanez. Statements of support for the rapper came from his father, his 6-year-old son, and even Iggy Azalea, who asked the judge to hand down a "transformative, not life-destroying" sentence," according to the Associated Press.
"This was an unorthodox sentencing hearing to put it mildly," wrote Los Angeles Times reporter James Queally. "Two days largely focused on Lanez's vast charitable work, which is a factor in mitigation but not a major one. Judge Herriford stepped around it succinctly though — 'sometimes good people do bad things.'"
P. Lehman/Barcroft Media via Getty; Cassidy Sparrow/Getty Megan Thee Stallion; Tory Lanez
Lanez was found guilty in December of all three felony firearm counts against him, including assault with a semiautomatic handgun, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence, for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, real name Megan Pete, in her foot after a party in the Hollywood Hills at Kylie Jenner's house in July 2020.
The rapper faced up to 22 years in prison and the possibility of deportation, with prosecutors calling for a harsh sentence, citing Lanez's "high degree of indifference for human life."
In a conversation with Gayle King last April, Megan said an argument stemmed from her wanting to leave Jenner's house, but her companions, including Lanez, did not. It escalated when she stepped out of the car, and "all I hear is this man screaming. And he said, 'Dance, b----.' And he started shooting," she recalled to King, referencing Lanez. "He shot a couple of times. And I was so scared."
"He is standin' up over the window shooting," Megan continued, "and I didn't even want to move. I didn't want to move too quick 'cause I'm like, 'Oh, my God. If I take the wrong step, I don't know if he's gonna shoot something that's, like, super important. I don't know if he could shoot me and kill me.'" When police arrived, Megan told them she had stepped on glass, citing the recent police killing of George Floyd to King.
"Even though this person just did this to me, my first reaction was still to try to save us," she said. "I didn't want to see anybody die."
As the prosecution's witness, Megan took the stand last December and testified about the shooting's toll on her physical and mental health, sharing that she experienced suicidal thoughts. "I can't even be happy," she said. "I can't hold conversations with people for a long time. I don't feel like I want to be on this Earth. I wish he would have just shot and killed me if I knew I would have to go through this torture."
"This situation has only been worse for me and it has only made him more famous," Megan added of the media coverage. "Because I was shot, I've been turned into some kind of villain, and he's the victim. This has messed up my whole life... This whole situation in the industry is like a big boy's club... I'm telling on one of y'all friends, now you're all about to hate me."
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