A Los Angeles jury found Canadian rapper Tory Lanez guilty of three felonies in the 2020 shooting of fellow rap artist Megan Thee Stallion.
Megan testified during the court proceeding that Tory was the shooter that left her wounded with bullet fragments in her feet.
The jury deliberated for one day before convicting the 30-year-old rap artist, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Tory faces up to 22 years in prison and his sentence will be determined on January 27. He was remanded immediately and was put in handcuffs while in the courtroom.
According to TMZ, Tory will likely be forced to leave the country and face deportation back to Canada after serving his sentence.
The outlet reports that his attorneys were in touch with immigration officials before the verdict was read.
Tory Lanez’s father and family have a courtroom outburst
After the verdict was read, several members of Tory’s family — including his father and stepmother – yelled in court, “This system stands before God!” and reportedly called the court system evil, per TMZ.
They were consequently escorted out of the courtroom by deputies.
Tory’s father continued shouting outside the courtroom and mentioned LAPD being unable to get his son’s fingerprints from the gun. He also blasted Megan’s management team, yelling, “Roc Nation you will crumble.”
Tory’s spirits were high as he was filmed entering the courtroom. Lanez reportedly wore a powder pink coat with matching pants and did not visibly react as the verdict was read, per AP News.
What evidence led to Tory Lanez’s conviction?
The trial lasted about two weeks in court with several witnesses taking the stand to recount what they say happened on July 12, 2020.
Megan testified and accused Tory of being the shooter. She said she saw Tory with the gun and remembered him firing at her from the vehicle. She also claimed he shouted, “Dance, b****!”
She also said that Tory offered her a $1 million bribe. The WAP rapper admitted to lying about having an intimate relationship with Tory in an interview before the trial.
Tory’s defense team tried to target Megan’s former close friend, Kelsey, as the shooter. The former friends gave different versions of what occurred in the car that night.
Kelsey insisted that she didn’t shoot Megan but didn’t say whether Tory was the shooter. However, prosecutors were permitted to play a prior interview of Kelsey with investigators in which she said Tory did shoot Megan.
Another witness claimed to have seen two women fighting from his balcony. While he didn’t confirm he saw Tory fire the gun, the jury requested a readback of his testimony; therefore, it likely played a significant role in the jury’s decision.