After 24 hours of deliberation, Tory Lanez was convicted of assault with a semiautomatic handgun, carrying a loaded, unlicensed firearm in a vehicle, and recklessly discharging a firearm.
According to the New York Times, he risks more than twenty years in jail and deportation.
Following Wednesday’s closing statements, Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott told the jury of seven women and five men that Megan would never have exposed herself to public harassment if she wasn’t speaking the truth about Lanez shooting her in the feet in 2020.
Thursday, the jury requested a reading of the evidence of Sean Kelly, the lone non-participant eyewitness to the incident. Kelly and his children were on a neighboring balcony, and he said his concern for their safety prevented him from witnessing.
The defence called the witness, although both sides felt that his testimony supported them. He claimed that he observed muzzle flashes that looked to originate from a lady, but also stated that he observed a little male “shooting everywhere.”
According to ABC News, the California prosecutor stated during closing arguments that the jury should accept the Houston rapper’s misery and her fortitude in battling it, which were obvious in her testimony last week. In addition, he emphasized that the jury should give Megan with justice by condemning Lanez.
“Why would she lie?” Bott said, according to the news outlet. “She’s been subjected to a stream of hate. For what? For coming forward as a victim of domestic violence?”
During his closing argument, Lanez’s defense counsel, George Mgdesyan, told the jury that Megan had excellent motive to lie, arguing that her being mistreated by Lanez was a far better public tale than the humiliating one he’s suggesting. Kelsey Harris, her former closest friend, shot her in a fit of jealousy over the Toronto rapper.
“Megan Pete is a liar. She lied about everything in this case from the beginning,” Mgdesyan said. “She lied under oath here.”
In addition, Mgdesyan alleged Lanez fought with Harris to prevent her from firing.
“He was trying to protect her,” Mgdesyan remarked, ridiculing Megan’s two-year ordeal. “It’s been so bad for her. She’s won Grammys. She’s had number ones on the Billboard charts. You know who it’s been bad for? That man right there,” Mgdesyan added, pointing at Lanez. “He hasn’t been able to work. He’s had to go through this with his family for 2 1/2 years.”
Friday was the ninth day of public proceedings in the Los Angeles trial of suspected shooter Tory Lanez. Lanez was charged with three felonies: assault with a firearm causing severe bodily injury, concealing a loaded, unlicensed pistol in a vehicle, and carelessly discharging a firearm.
During the trial, Megan Thee Stallion, 27, testified that Lanez fired a handgun at the back of her feet and shouted for her to dance as she walked away from an SUV in which they had been riding in Hollywood Hills in July 2020. She would need surgery to remove bullet fragments from her feet.
Harris, who was also in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, denied being the shooter and previously identified Lanez as the one holding the gun.
“The jury got it right. I am thankful there is justice for Meg,” Alex Spiro, Megan Thee Stallion’s attorney, said to BET.com
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