Tory Lanez found guilty in shooting of Megan Thee Stallion: All the emotional revelations

LOS ANGELES – Rapper Tory Lanez was found guilty Friday of three felonies in the 2020 shooting of hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion that left her wounded with bullet fragments in her feet.

The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for a day and a half before convicting the 30-year-old Canadian rapper, 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.

The counts could lead to up to 22 years in prison.

Lanez's shooting trial began Dec. 12, more than two years after Megan accused the R&B artist of inflicting "great bodily injury" toward her. In a criminal complaint, prosecutors said Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, fired a gun at a victim identified as “Megan P.” after she got out of an SUV during an argument in the Hollywood Hills on July 12, 2020. Megan’s legal name is Megan Pete. 

At first, Los Angeles police reported the incident as shots fired, a woman with foot injuries and a man arrested on a weapons allegation. Megan revealed a few days later that her foot injuries came from gunshots. Following months of speculation and publicity surrounding the incident, prosecutors charged Lanez with felony assault in October 2020. Lanez pleaded not guilty in November 2020.

Lanez, who was wearing a powder pink winter coat with matching pants, showed no visible reaction as the verdict was read. He was handcuffed while in the courtroom.

After the jury left the courtroom, Lanez’s father, Sonstar Peterson, leapt up and began shouting. “This wicked system stands judged before God almighty!” he shouted, as deputies closed in on him. He then pointed to the two prosecutors in the case and yelled, “You two are evil, wicked people. You know exactly what you did.”

Keep reading for the biggest revelations out of the trial.

Tory Lanez placed under house arrest while awaiting Megan Thee Stallion shooting trial

Jurors deciding whether Tory Lanez shot Megan Thee Stallion

Jurors began deliberations Thursday at the trial of rapper Tory Lanez, who was charged with shooting and wounding hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion in the feet.

The jury deliberated for just over three hours after hearing the last part of the defense's closing argument that began a day earlier and a brief rebuttal from Los Angeles County prosecutors.

The jury on Thursday asked for a read-back of the testimony of the only eyewitness to the shooting who was not directly involved, a man on a nearby balcony who was with his children at the time and said his concerns for their safety kept him from watching closely.

Sean Kelly was called by the defense, but both sides argued his account favored them. He said he saw muzzle flashes that appeared to come from a woman, but also said he saw a small man “firing everywhere.”

Tory Lanez trial closing statements: Prosecutor argues justice for Megan, defense calls her a 'liar'

Attorneys for the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments in Lanez's trial Wednesday.

Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said Megan’s testimony was in itself sufficient to convict, but it’s supported by layers of other evidence, including the accounts of other eyewitnesses and apologies from Lanez. He ended his presentation Wednesday with a quote from Megan’s testimony, in which she said there have been times that “I wish he would have just shot and killed me.”

“Megan does matter,” Bott said. “This case matters. Hold him accountable for shooting Megan over nothing more than a bruised ego.”

Defense attorney George Mgdesyan attacked Megan in his closing statement, saying, “Megan Pete is a liar. She lied about everything in this case from the beginning." He said that Lanez actually struggled with Megan’s former friend Kelsey Harris to stop her from shooting, and that a pause heard on an audio recording amid the five shots fired on the night of July 12, 2020, was evidence of that. “He was trying to protect her,” Mgdesyan said.

Mgdesyan mocked Megan’s experience in the years that followed. “It’s been so bad for her,” he said. “She’s won Grammys. She’s had number ones on the Billboard charts. ... You know who it’s been bad for? That man right there,” Mgdesyan said, pointing at Lanez. 

Mgdesyan told the judge earlier in the day that Lanez would not testify. The defense was set to finish its closings on Thursday, with the jury getting the case after the prosecution’s rebuttal.

Witness recalls muzzle flash near woman, then Tory Lanez 'firing everywhere' 

The defense on Dec. 20 called witness Sean Kelly to the stand, the man who called 911 from his bedroom window after seeing the alleged altercation, according to Rolling Stone and Billboard.

Lanez's legal team reportedly chose Kelly to serve as a witness because he told a defense investigator in 2021 that he initially saw a muzzle flash – the light flash triggered by a bullet being propelled out of a gun – near a woman's hand during a physical altercation between Megan The Stallion and Kelsey Harris, though his testimony seemingly backed up Megan's claim that Lanez shot at her several times. 

Per reports, Kelly testified that he never saw a gun, but saw one flash near a woman's hand, then "assumed" Lanez (who Kelly identified as the "short" guy, compared to the group's taller driver) took the gun from the woman after a physical altercation because he was then "firing everywhere." 

“I just saw he was very angry, shouting, and then the flashes then came from him. I never saw a gun,” Kelly said, according to Rolling Stone. “They were all fighting, so I just assumed he grabbed the gun.”

The witness also testified that after the female victim was shot, he saw her laying in the fetal position on the ground, bleeding, as two men and one woman began punching and kicking her.

“It appeared to me when I was on the phone that they were trying to kill her,” Kelly said, according to the outlets. “They dragged her across the street, then got in the car and sped off.”

Prosecution asks for more time after missing witness

On Dec. 19, prosecutors requested an additional day to present their case or "permission to re-open their presentation after defense rests" after being unable to locate a witness, according to Rolling Stone and the Los Angeles Times.

“As the court can see, there has been significant due-diligence with respect to this witness,” said Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta, per Rolling Stone.

Judge David Herriford appeared to grant the prosecution's request, saying “Alright, let’s see how far we can get.”

Prosecutors' request comes after Megan’s former bodyguard, Justin Edison, failed to appear in court to give his testimony on the shooting, according to Rolling Stone and Complex. Edison was not named as the missing witness on Dec. 19, however.

“We recently learned that Justin Edison went missing right before he was scheduled to appear in court,” Megan's attorney Alex Spiro told the outlets. “The LAPD is currently looking into his disappearance, and welcome any information about his whereabouts.”

In interview, Kelsey Harris says she saw Tory Lanez shoot at Megan's feet 

Kelsey Harris, a former friend of Megan's and a witness to the alleged shooting, said in a recorded interview played for jurors Dec. 16 that she saw Lanez fire a gun at Megan's feet.

The interview with prosecutors from September was played after Harris said on the stand Wednesday that she did not see Lanez firing the gun that left her former friend and boss wounded. She said she didn't remember other key details.

“He was shooting the gun,” Harris says on the recording, describing seeing Lanez standing beside an SUV in the Hollywood Hills, leaning over the front passenger-side door and pointing the gun at the ground near Megan.

After Lanez's lawyers suggested in their cross-examination that Harris had been pressured to make the statements, the judge allowed the prosecution to make the rare move of playing the entire 78-minute recording for the jury.

Harris was cordial in the recorded interview, in contrast to her evasive, at times combative time on the stand, and the prosecutors rarely had to prompt her. She said on the recording she had been drinking heavily, as others in the car had, and had been getting out of the car when she heard several shots. She then looked up to see Lanez firing more gunshots.

Harris' description of the night on the recording generally matched Megan's description from her testimony Tuesday, but differed slightly. Harris said Lanez remained silent as he fired. Megan had testified that he shouted "Dance, (expletive)" at her when he shot.

Kelsey Harris reportedly pleads the Fifth Amendment, takes stand in trial

During her testimony, Kelsey Harris, a former friend of Megan's and a witness to the alleged shooting, invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not provide testimony that could be self-incriminating, according to Rolling Stone. 

The outlet reported Harris testified Wednesday to being in the car with Megan and Lanez before the alleged shooting. She said a fight broke out among all three of them and all three were verbally attacking each other.

Harris also confirmed on the stand she made a claim to prosecutors that Lanez threatened to shoot her while in the car, Rolling Stone reported.

When prosecutors asked Harris "what did (Lanez) do and what did he say," she asked the judge if she could "take my fifth," according to Rolling Stone. After conferring with her lawyer, Harris returned to the stand to invoke her Fifth Amendment right.

“I don’t want to be here,” she told the judge, per the outlet. 

Before Harris took the stand, her lawyer told the judge she planned to assert her Fifth Amendment right, Rolling Stone reported. The outlet added the judge said he found Harris' concerns "legitimate" after an in-chambers proceeding on the issue. Prosecutors then offered Harris "use immunity" in exchange for her testimony, and she took the stand, the outlet said.

While on the stand, she denied that she herself had fired the gun, but wouldn't say Lanez did. When confronted with a text she sent to Megan's manager that read “Help. Tory shot meg. 911," Harris said she only assumed Lanez had done the shooting.

Harris described the trial as "triggering" and said she's suffering from "anxiety" and dealing with the birth of a child and a recent death, Rolling Stone reported.

Megan Thee Stallion takes the stand, recalls day of shooting

Dressed in a purple Sergio Hudson suit, Megan arrived at the courthouse Dec. 13.  to testify she saw Lanez fire the handgun that injured her foot in the summer of 2020.

Megan took the stand Tuesday morning, getting emotional as she began answering questions, the Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone reported. "I just don't feel good," she said when asked if she was nervous. "I can't believe I have to come up here and do this."

Megan detailed the events leading up to the alleged shooting. She explained tensions began to escalate between her and Lanez during a car ride after leaving a party at Kylie Jenner's house, per reports from LAT and Rolling Stone.

Megan said Lanez "had an attitude" because she had asked to leave the party early. The rapper added Lanez then told her she needed to "stop lying" to friend Kelsey Harris, who was also in the car, about their past sexual relationship.

The pair went on to trade barbs over their respective music careers, Megan said, prompting her to ask to be let out of the vehicle. However, as she began to walk away from the car, Megan said she heard Lanez say "dance, (expletive)" as the singer shot her.

"I’m in shock. I’m scared. I hear a gun going off, and I can’t believe he’s shooting at me," Megan said. "He was holding the gun, pointing it at me."

After getting back in the car, Megan said Lanez promised her and Harris $1 million to keep quiet about the assault. Megan said she refrained from initially reporting the shooting to police, citing heightened tensions surrounding police brutality at the time.

"This was the height of police brutality and George Floyd, and if I said this man just shot me, I didn’t know if they might shoot first and ask questions later," Megan explained, adding that in the Black community "it’s not really acceptable to be cooperating with police officers."

Megan Thee Stallion supporters rally for rapper: 'This is about Black women'

A small group of Megan supporters rallied outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday to show their support for the rapper, according to images and video shared by the organization The Gathering For Justice on Instagram.

Fans also waited in the hallway outside the courtroom as the trial commenced. One of those fans, Michelle Walker, shouted a message of support to Megan as the rapper exited the courtroom at noon for a lunch break.

A rap artist herself, Walker told USA TODAY the trial raises issues "bigger than Megan."

"This is about Black women as a whole," she said, adding that racism and sexism make people less likely to believe Black women when they come forward with allegations of violence.

"She needs to know that we are here. Black women are here supporting," Walker continued. "I wanted her to feel that love. That’s the key thing. I feel like I had to be here. I had to be a part of this to support her so she knows that someone is here.”

Karmilla Carneiro, another Megan supporter outside the courtroom Tuesday, said she's proud of the rapper "for sticking her ground."

“I really truly believe that what happened to her had happened to her," she said. "She’s fighting for the change we need.”

Prosecution, defense give dueling opening statements

According to the Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone, the trial began Dec. 12 with the prosecution and Lanez's defense offering opening statements that each painted a different version of events.

Per the outlets, Lanez's lawyer George Mgdesyan argued that the altercation at the heart of the case was sparked by jealousy between Megan and her former friend  Harris, both of whom had relationships with Lanez. Harris is set to testify.

The outlets report prosecutor Alexander Bott argued Lanez shot Megan after she insulted his musical abilities.

Is Megan Thee Stallion on trial?

Megan did not press the charges and is not on trial.

On Dec. 12, prosecutors added a new charge of discharging a firearm with gross negligence, according to Rolling Stone. 

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Contributing: Kelly Lawler, Charles Trepany, Hannah Yasharoff and Edward Segarra, USA TODAY; Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press