Funviralpark LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury in Los Angeles on Friday found rapper Tory Lanez guilty of three felony counts in the shooting of 2020 hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion. It was injured by a bullet fragment in her leg.
A jury of seven women and five men held a day of deliberations before convicting 30-year-old Canadian rapper Dayster Peterson of gross negligence. Counting can lead to up to 22 years in prison.
Lanez, who wore a powder pink winter coat and matching pants, made no visible reaction when the verdict was read.
After the jury left the courtroom, Lanez’s father, Sonster Peterson, jumped up and started screaming. “This evil system will be judged before Almighty God!” he exclaimed as a deputy approached him. He then pointed to his two prosecutors in the case, saying, “You two of him are evil, evil people. You know exactly what you did.”
Deputies took him out of the courtroom, where he continued to scream in the hallway.
Press and members of the public were forced to remain in the courtroom for several minutes after the hearing while the corridors were cleared.
Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete, testified that Lanez fired a handgun during the trial. In the summer of 2020, she yelled for us to dance behind her feet as she walked away from the SUV they were in in the Hollywood Hills. She began to despise his music.
She needed surgery to remove bullet fragments from her leg.
“The jury found it right,” Megan’s attorney Alex Spiro said. “I’m grateful Meg has justice.”
Lawyers for Lanez were not available for comment outside the courtroom. Emails sent to them and to prosecutors seeking a response to the verdict were not immediately returned.
The shooting has sparked a storm of cultural issues and controversy, peaking during trials and the reluctance of black victims to speak to police.the 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. .
“Why would she lie?” said Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott. “She has been subjected to a stream of her hate. For what? Because she came forward as a victim of domestic violence?”
Lanez’s attorneys argued in closing arguments that in fact Megan’s then-best friend, Kelsey Harris, fired the shot during a jealous fight over Lanez who tried to stop the shooting. Attorney George Mugdesian claimed that Megan created a more sympathetic narrative by pinning 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 and steadily increased in popularity before 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 her 2021 Grammy Award for Best New Artist and her No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as a guest on her self-written song “Savage” featuring Beyoncé and Cardi B’s “WAP.” got her single.
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter. https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
