Rapper Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years in prison

Canadian rapper Tory Lanez was convicted of three felonies for shooting Grammy-winning superstar Megan Thee Stallion three years ago in an appeals court hearing that ended on August 8.

Judge David Herriford was originally scheduled to sentence Tory Lanez, 31, on August 7 in a trial that typically lasts just a few hours, but attorneys on both sides argued over each element of the sentence, allowing seven witnesses to testify about Lanez's charitable contributions, his childhood trauma and his status as a father to a 6-year-old son, according to NBC News .

Grammy-winning singer Megan Thee Stallion

According to the AP news agency, when the proceedings began on August 7, Lanez sent more than 70 letters of support, including a letter from rapper Iggy Azalea to Judge Herriford asking for leniency "that changes lives, not destroys lives" before sentencing.

"I don't support taking anyone's life if we can instead provide reasonable punishments for rehabilitation. I support prison reform. Period," Azalea tweeted later.

On December 23, 2022, a jury in Los Angeles Superior Court returned a unanimous verdict, convicting singer Luv of shooting Megan Thee Stallion (28 years old), carrying another loaded, unregistered gun in her vehicle, and recklessly discharging a firearm.

"The jury got it right. I'm so grateful that justice was served for Meg," Megan's attorney Alex Spiro told People in 2022.

The charges stem from an altercation after Lanez, Megan and her former assistant Kelsey Harris left a party at Kylie Jenner's Los Angeles home on July 12, 2020. While chauffeur Jaquan Smith was driving them in a Cadillac Escalade, an argument broke out in the car, then on a sidewalk in the Hollywood Hills.

According to prosecutors in court, as Megan Thee Stallion began to walk away, she heard Lanez yell, "Jump, bitch!" and began shooting her in the leg, causing her to fall to the ground.

Rapper Tory Lanez (left) was convicted of three felonies for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the leg

Assistant District Attorney Alexander Bott told the court that her friend Harris panicked when Lanez approached the two women and fired five shots at Megan. Megan was later hospitalized and underwent surgery.

"I was shocked. I was scared. I heard the gunshot. I couldn't believe he shot me," Megan testified in a packed courtroom last year.

Tory Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, appeared “stoic” in court on August 7 and 8. He spoke for several minutes before the judge made his decision, asking for leniency and a sentence that would allow him to “prove” himself, Rolling Stone reported.

“If I could go back and change the events of that night, I would,” Lanez told the AP . “The victim is my friend. The victim is someone I still care about to this day. Everything I did wrong that night, I take full responsibility for,” the rapper added.

Lanez's father, Sonstar Peterson, who was also in the courtroom on August 7, became emotional as he said his son lost his mother at age 11... Peterson choked back tears as he apologized to Judge Herriford for his outburst during a court hearing last December. "I want to personally apologize to you," Sonstar Peterson told the judge, according to AP .

In the years since the shooting, Megan Thee Stallion has stayed away from social media and spent time on herself.

Canadian rapper Tory Lanez

Two years later, Megan opened up to Gayle King on CBS Mornings about the incident, explaining why she initially lied to investigators.

"I don't remember everything the police said to me, but I remember them asking me, 'What's going on? What, what happened to you?'. So I just said, 'I stepped on glass.'" Megan later admitted: "I lied to protect everyone. Sometimes I wish I had never said it."

"I don't want to call myself a victim. When I look back on the past three years, I consider myself a survivor of the unimaginable. Not only did I survive being shot by someone I trusted and considered a close friend, but I also survived the public humiliation of having my name and reputation dragged through the mud for the world to see," Megan Thee Stallion wrote for ELLE's May 2023 issue.

On June 6, 2023, prosecutors asked Judge Herriford to sentence Lanez to at least 13 years in prison, but the rapper's defense attorney argued in a 41-page motion on August 2 that Lanez should instead be sent to rehab, citing his alcoholism and severe childhood trauma...

Lanez's defense team described the shooting as a jealous dispute between Megan and Harris, attempting to sow doubt about who pulled the trigger and force Megan to reveal her intimate relationship with Lanez.

Megan Thee Stallion was not present for the sentencing. "Since I was brutally shot, I have not had a single peaceful day," she said in a statement read by Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta on August 7, according to ABC News .

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