Funviralpark LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles jury on Friday found rapper Tory Lanez guilty of three felony counts in the shooting of 2020 hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion.The attack left her with a bullet shrapnel in her leg, and Lanez’s conviction could send him to prison for over twenty years.
Handcuffed to prison wearing a powder pink coat and matching trousers, Lanez showed no visible reaction when his sentence was read out.
But some time later, after the jury had been escorted, his father, Sonster Peterson, sprang up and cried, “This evil system will be judged before Almighty God!” When a deputy approached him.
Peterson then pointed to the two prosecutors and said, “You two are evil, evil people. You know exactly what you did.”
With considerable effort, the attorney kicked him out of the courtroom, where he screamed in the hallway.
A jury of seven women and five men held a trial on Thursday before charging the 30-year-old Canadian rapper, whose real name is Dayster Peterson, with a semi-automatic weapon, with a loaded, unregistered weapon. He was found guilty of firing an unregistered rifle mounted on a vehicle. gross negligence.
The jury also agreed there was aggravating factors in the attack, and Lanez could face up to 22 years in prison and deportation if sentenced on January 25.
Three young children, including Lanez’s son, sat in the front row of the courtroom as the verdict was read. A young girl cries and is hugged by Laneth’s stepmother. She too was in her tears before starting screaming with her husband.
Others in the audience voted in favor, and one woman carried him off, shouting, “I love Tory.”
Megan and Lanez’s supporters gathered outside the courthouse for most of the eight-day trial, crowding the courtroom and corridors. The scene was tense at times, but mostly peaceful until the verdict was read out.
Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete, testified that Lanez fired a handgun during the trial. In the summer of 2020, I yelled at you to dance behind her legs as you walked away from the SUV they were in in the Hollywood Hills. She began to insult his music.
She needed surgery to remove bullet fragments from her leg.
After the verdict, her attorney, Alex Spiro, said, “The jury decided they were right,” and “I’m grateful that Meg has justice.”
Lanez’s attorney, George Mgdesyan, said he was “shocked by the verdict”.
“There was not enough evidence to convict Mr. Peterson,” Mugdesian said in a statement. “We believe this case has not been proven beyond reasonable doubt. We will consider all options, including an appeal,” he said.
The shooting has sparked a storm of cultural issues and controversy, peaking during trials and the reluctance of black victims to speak to police.protection of black womenGender Politics in Hip-Hopand online toxicity.
in closing argumentsprosecutors highlighted the courage it took for Megan to come forward and the harshness the 27-year-old faced. .
After the verdict, District Attorney George Gascon praised her.
In a statement, Mr Gascon said, “You have testified of incredible courage and vulnerability in the face of undeserved and grotesque attacks.” We faced unfair and despicable scrutiny.”
Lannes’ attorney argued in closing arguments that the shooting was actually fired by Megan’s then-best friend, Kelsey Harris, in a jealous fight over Lannes, who tried to stop the shooting.Attorney George Mugdesian claimed that Megan created a more sympathetic narrative by anchoring the shooting in Lanes.
“Megan Pete is a liar. She lied all about this case from the beginning,” Mgdesyan said. “She lied here under oath.”
Harris denied being a shooter and previously identified Lanez as someone with a gun. Her attorney said in her email that she declined to comment on her involvement.
Lanez began releasing mixtapes in 2009, steadily growing in popularity and transitioning to major label albums. His last two songs reached the Top 10 on the Billboard charts.
Megan Thee Stallion was already a major rising star at the time of the shooting, and her profile has skyrocketed ever since.
She won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2021 and a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 for her song “Savage” featuring Beyonce and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP” .
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter. https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
