Tory Lanez, the rapper who was found guilty of shooting Megan The Stallion, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Lanez was convicted of all three felony counts he was charged with in connection to the shooting incident that took place three years ago. After a 2020 altercation that led to Megan Thee Stallion being shot in the foot, Lanez was found guilty of “felony negligent discharge of a firearm, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm.”
For those that may not remember, the charges stemmed from an incident that took place on July 12, 2020. Tory Lanez, Megan, and her former assistant Kelsey Harris left a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s Los Angeles residence when a fight broke out in the backseat. As they were being driven home in a Cadillac Escalade with Jaquan Smith behind the wheel, the altercation became more heated and it continued on a Hollywood Hills sidewalk after Megan exited the vehicle.
According to prosecutors, Lanez was heard screaming at Megan to “dance” while he went on a profanity-laden tirade and aimed his 9mm pistol at her feet. Megan was stuck in the foot by a bullet and she crawled away from the scene of the crime to avoid further injury. Witness reports allege that Lanez fired five shots at Megan that led her to “lay bleeding in a random driveway.” Megan later underwent surgery to repair her injured foot.
Megan Thee Stallion bravely testified against Lanez in court, sharing her detailed account of the events that took place the night she was shot. “I’m in shock. I’m scared. I hear a gun going off. I couldn’t believe he was shooting at me,” she told the court. “He was holding the gun, pointing it at me.”
The sentencing was expected to be brief, but attorneys representing both Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion argued at length about circumstances that could impact the rapper’s potential sentence. The defendant’s legal council brought forth seven witnesses to give character statements about Lanez that detailed his charitable donations and childhood trauma. Judge David Herriford was also asked to take into consideration the fact that Lanez is the father of a 6-year-old son.
Tory Lanez and his legal team submitted more than 70 letters of support to the court, including a written plea from fellow entertainer Iggy Azalea that asked for leniency for Lanez. Azalea has since gotten immense backlash for her public support of the disgraced rapper. “I am not in support of throwing away anyone’s life if we can give reasonable punishments that are rehabilitative instead. I support prison reform. Period,” she later wrote on Twitter.
It has been a lengthy court process for Tory Lanez, who was found guilty of assault by a unanimous verdict on December 23, 2022. Pleased with the verdict, Megan’s attorney, Alex Spiro, told People, “The jury got it right. I am thankful there is justice for Meg.” Ultimately, Lanez, who was facing up to 22 years behind bars, was given 10 years in jail without the possibility of parole for the shooting.
