Megan Thee Stallion’s former boyfriend Tory Lanez was found guilty on all three counts of shooting her in the foot after a party at Kylie Jenner’s house in July 2020.
The Canadian rapper, 30, was convicted by a jury in downtown Los Angeles on Friday after less than 24 hours of deliberation.
Lanez now faces up to 18 years in prison for shooting his hip-hop colleague and could be deported.
Judge David Herriford sent the panel of seven women and five men into the jury room shortly after the prosecution and defense concluded their closing arguments Thursday afternoon. Their verdict was unanimous.
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion is seen December 13 arriving in court on the opening day of the trial of her ex-boyfriend, hip-hop star Tory Lanez
Video footage showed the moments after the July 12, 2020 shooting, with Lanez and Thee Stallion and a third person lying on the ground when authorities arrived
Megan Thee Stallion shared photos of the injuries she sustained to her foot after Tory Lanez shot her
Lanez, wearing a pink suit and white turtleneck, arrived at the criminal court in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday with his five-year-old son Kai, who was present with his father at a trial when the trial began.
The 30-year-old singer pleaded not guilty to three counts, including assaulting the rapper with a semi-automatic firearm, carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle and firing a firearm with gross negligence.
Tory Lanez, 30, was convicted by a jury on Friday. He now faces up to 18 years in prison for rapper Megan Thee Stallion with a gun
Lanez, wearing a pink suit and white turtleneck, arrived at the criminal court in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday with his five-year-old son Kai, who was present with his father at a trial when the trial began
The attack is punishable by up to nine years in prison; firing in the case of gross negligence up to three years and covert gun counting up to three years.
But because the jury found Lanez caused “grievous bodily harm” — Megan had three bullet fragments surgically removed from her feet — both crimes carry increased penalties, increasing his sentence to up to six years each for the assault and the gross shooting Negligence can increase fees.
In her testimony last week, Megan, 27, told the jury the incident took place after she and Lanez attended a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home on July 12, 2020.
She said the two were about to set off in his SUV with Megan’s assistant and best friend Kelsey Harris when an argument broke out and she asked his driver, Jaquan Smith, to stop.
Megan, whose real name is Megan Pete, said that as she got out of the car, Lanez allegedly shouted “dance b***h” and fired multiple shots at her, injuring her feet so badly that they needed surgery had to.
She also testified that Lanez offered her and Harris $1 million to keep quiet about the shooting.
Lanez – who is out on $350,000 bail – later apologized to her and said he was intoxicated at the time of the shooting.
His defense team argued that it was not Lanez but Harris who fired the gun at Megan in a fit of jealousy and anger.
Harris was also involved with Lanez and was furious when she found out the singer had “stabbed her” by sleeping with him.
The defense has theorized that it was not Lanez but Megan’s assistant and friend Kelsey Harris (pictured arriving in court on December 15) who fired the gun in a fit of jealousy and anger at Megan
Lanez’s attorney George Mgdesyan – who has branded Megan a “liar” – accused prosecutors of “trying to defile my client and make him look like a villain. A black hip hop rapper.
“They’re asking you to jump to a conclusion and prosecute a black man. The story fits better when it’s a black man shooting a black woman. But Kelsey is the one who shot her friend.”
When asked why the chief investigator in the case only took Lanez’s DNA and not that of the other passengers in the car, Mgdesyan said: “Because he’s the celebrity. He’s Tory Lanez.”
He added: “The prosecution wants you to rely on Megan, who lied to you, or Kelsey, who took the Fifth.
“Why would Megan lie?” asked Mgdesyan earlier.
“Megan and Tory are both artists – which is more newsworthy, you were shot by Kelsey Harris or you were shot by Tory Lanez?”
“Megan has an image – she’s Megan Thee Stallion. Kelsey found out that her best friend was cheating on her husband and she shot her. What would that look like for Megan Thee Stallion?’
He also reminded the jury of Sean Kelly’s testimony, in which he told the court he saw Harris call off the fight with Megan and return to the SUV before gunfire erupted.
In testimony last week, 27-year-old Megan told the jury of seven women and five men that she and Lanez were leaving a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s home on July 12, 2020 when an argument broke out. The two women are pictured together during an Instagram Live on the night of filming
Megan initially denied ever being in a romantic relationship with Lanez. The rapper, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted. The two are pictured in 2020
Mgdesyan said: “The evidence is pretty clear that the gun was in Kelsey’s pocket.”
Calling the prosecution’s case “riddled with holes,” he continued, “My client did not intentionally talk to the gun and fire the gun. That’s why his DNA isn’t on the gun.
“There is no evidence that my client fired a firearm.
“My client held Kelsey’s hand to keep her from shooting Megan… He was trying to save Megan.”
Assistant District Attorney Kathy Ta despised the defense’s position that Kelsey angrily shot Megan over their romantic rivalry over Lanez.
Instead, she told the jury Lanez shot and killed Megan in a raging battle of egos over the two rappers’ musical talents.
“It is the defendant who is on trial, not Megan,” Ta told the court in her rebuttal to the defense’s closing arguments.
“The defendant had a bruised ego because Megan was more successful than him.
“She disrespected him as a rapper and that pissed him off. How dare she disregard him, then get out of the car and walk away from him?
“So he reasserted his dominance.”