10-Year Sentence for Tory Lanez in Megan Thee Stallion Shooting
Lanez, 31, was convicted in December of three felonies: assault with a semiautomatic firearm; having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle; and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Herriford delivered Lanez’s sentence.
The sentence concludes a dramatic trial that sparked a cultural firestorm in the hip-hop community, stirring up issues such as the reluctance of Black victims to speak to police, gender politics in hip-hop, online toxicity, protecting Black women, and the repercussions of misogynoir, a form of misogyny experienced by Black women.
Herriford stated that it was “difficult to reconcile” the kind, charitable, and decent father that Lanez was described as during the sentencing hearing with the individual who shot Megan.
“Sometimes, good people do bad things,” said Herriford. “Actions have consequences, and there are no winners in this case.”
Megan testified that Lanez discharged a gun at the back of her feet and yelled for her to dance as she exited an SUV in July 2020, after leaving a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills residence. She required surgery to remove fragments of the projectile.
“Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a single day of peace,” Megan said in a statement that was read by a prosecutor on Monday. “Slowly but surely, I’m recovering and returning, but I’ll never be the same.”
Before the sentencing, Lanez’s father, Sonstar Peterson, fought back emotions as he described how the rapper’s mother passed away when he was 11 years old, just days after she exhibited the first symptoms of the rare blood disorder that ultimately caused her death.
“I don’t think anybody ever gets over that,” he said of their youngest child, Daystar Peterson, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson. “But his music became his outlet.”
In 2009, Lanez began publishing mixtapes and experienced a steady rise in popularity before releasing major-label albums. His last two albums reached the top ten on the Billboard 200.
Megan Thee Stallion, who is now 28 years old, was already a prominent rising celebrity at the time of the shooting, and her popularity has since increased. Born Megan Pete, she won the Grammy for best new artist in 2021 and had No. 1 singles with “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP.”
The elder Peterson, a Christian minister, was one of several individuals who testified about Lanez’s integrity and philanthropy; the mother of Lanez’s young son also testified in court about his fatherly qualities. Dozens more wrote to Herriford, including songstress Iggy Azalea, who asked for a sentence that was “transformative, not life-destroying.”
Herriford stated that Lanez’s roughly 6-year-old son also submitted a handwritten letter, but the judge did not elaborate.
During the course of the trial, Lanez’s family and supporters argued that Megan and influential figures in the music industry were responsible for his unlawful prosecution.
In December, when the verdict was delivered, Lanez’s father criticized the “wicked system” that led to his son’s conviction; on Monday, Sonstar Peterson apologized to Herriford for his outburst.
Lanez has been incarcerated following his conviction. Monday in court, a chaplain from the Los Angeles County jail stated that Lanez has conducted daily prayer groups that have reduced tensions in the protective custody unit where he has been detained.
On May 9, Herriford denied Lanez’s defense attorneys’ request for a new trial. Such motions are common immediately following a conviction, but they rarely succeed. The defense argued that there was insufficient evidence to convict Lanez and that some of the evidence presented to the jury should not have been admitted.
The attorneys argued that Megan’s testimony that Lanez persuaded her not to go to the police because he was on parole and would face severe consequences was both false and an improper allowance of prior bad acts.
In addition, the DNA evidence used by prosecutors to contend that Lanez was the most likely shooter did not meet industry standards.
In a sentencing memo, Lanez’s attorneys argued that he should receive probation and be released from jail to enter a residential substance addiction program. They intend to appeal the verdict.
Herriford determined earlier on Monday that Megan was a particularly vulnerable victim when she was shot, but that Lanez’s actions were neither particularly malicious nor callous.
“She has permanent physical scarring,” stated Assistant District Attorney Alexander Bott in court. She will undoubtedly have emotional scars for the remainder of her existence.
10-Year Sentence for Tory Lanez in Megan Thee Stallion Shooting
