Canadian rapper Tory Lanez handed 10 years in jail for shooting Megan Thee Stallion

After three full years of legal drama and tension, Tory Lanez, the Canadian rapper, received a 10-year prison term this Tuesday for the 2020 shooting of fellow artist Megan Thee Stallion. 

What

Judge David Herriford of the Los Angeles Superior Court sentenced Daystar Peterson, also known as Tory Lanez, aged 31.

Peterson was convicted in December 2022 on three counts:

• using a semiautomatic firearm to commit assault,
• possessing a loaded and unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and
• recklessly discharging a firearm. 

These charges stemmed from the incident on July 12, 2020, when Lanez shot another American rapper, Megan Thee Stallion.  

About the shooting

Here’s everything there is to know about the shooting:

• In July 2020, Megan Thee Stallion posted an update on Instagram about the incident in the Hollywood Hills on July 12 that left her with a gunshot injury.

• A month later, the American rapper officially announced in an Instagram live, that the person responsible for her gunshot wound was Tory Lanez. 

• In October 2020, the LA County DA's office verified that Lanez faced charges for "assaulting a female friend."

What happened at the trial? 

Here’s what was disclosed in the trial about the 2020 incident between Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion.

• As the trial proceeded, it was revealed that while returning from Kylie Jenner's pool gathering on July 11, 2020, the jury learned that Megan Thee Stallion made derogatory remarks about Tory Lanez's musical abilities.
• As tensions rose, she insisted on exiting the vehicle. Megan recounted that she heard Lanez exclaim "dance" just before discharging five gunshots in her direction.

• Evidence presented in court showed a blood trail left at the location. Later, she re-entered the automobile, which law enforcement pulled over.
• Near the spot where Lanez had been seated, authorities discovered a firearm that was still warm.
• Megan Thee Stallion testified on Day Two in court where she said that she hasn’t experienced “a single day of peace”, ever since her altercation with Lanez. 
• She also claimed that Lanez offered to pay her $1 million, just to keep her mouth shut about the incident. 
• Prosecutors demanded a 13-year prison term for Lanez on charges of shooting Megan Thee Stallion.
• Lanez's defence requested probation and residential drug treatment. They cited childhood trauma as the root cause of his alcoholism, seeking assistance for his recovery.
• Lanez pleaded with the judge for leniency moments before the latter issued his verdict. He implored for probation or a brief prison term.
• “If I could turn back the series of events that night and change them, I would,” Tory Lanez pleaded. 
• In the end, Judge David Herriford handed a 10-year prison term to Lanez on August 8.
• Herriford also rejected the defense's argument regarding Lanez's mental health as a mitigating factor in his verdict.

What now for Lanez?

Jose Baez, Lanez's lawyer, stated post-court on Monday that the rapper asserts his innocence. He believes that imprisoning Lanez would harm the charitable causes and people he financially aids. Baez proposed a year-long residential alcohol abuse treatment for Lanez.

Sonstar Peterson, Lanez's father, emotionally expressed his son's struggle with losing his mother at 11, "I don't believe anyone truly recovers from that." However, his music turned into a way to cope.