Tory Lanez Declines Testifying In Megan Thee Stallion Shooting Trial
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On Wednesday, Tory Lanez refused to take the stand in his own defense during a trial over the July 2020 shooting in Los Angeles.
Tory Lanez declined to take the stand on Wednesday (December 21) in his own defense over whether or not he shot Grammy Award-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion. The move concludes the end of testimony, as final closing arguments are set to be made on Thursday (December 22).
Earlier on Wednesday, Superior Court Judge David Herriford told jurors that Lanez, real name Daystar Peterson, has an “absolute constitutional right not to testify,” which Peterson accepted while sitting next to his father.
Also during Wednesday morning’s proceedings, Lanez’s driver Jaquan Smith – who was present at the time of the shooting – did not testify, although he could have provided an eye-witness testimony if at the courthouse earlier that day.
“This is a case about a guy who shot a girl, then apologized for it” Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said in his closing argument about Lanez’s tape-recorded call from jail, per ABC 7.
“When Megan insulted his ability as an artist — that’s what set him off that night,” the prosecutor said of Lanez.
The Canadian artist’s defense attorney, George Mgdesyan, offered a different narrative of what took place during the July 12, 2020 incident in Los Angeles.
“This was about jealousy … two woman that love a man and found out,” Mgdesyan said, telling the panel that Megan’s former close friend Kelsey Harris fired shots out of jealousy after finding out that Lanez had slept with both women. Although Harris is not charged in the case, she testified.
Also testifying last week was Megan, real name Megan Pete, who claimed that Lanez shot her in the feet following a party at Kylie Jenner’s mansion. The artist, 27, also said that Lanez said “dance b****” before shooting her at least once in the foot.
“At this time, we were at the height of police brutality with George Floyd,” she said, adding that she didn’t want anyone in the car to die and that it was “not really acceptable” in the Black community to cooperate with police.
Lanez has pleaded not guilty to three felony charges in the case, including assault with a firearm causing great bodily injury; concealing a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The case also has a recently added count of discharging a firearm with gross negligence. If convicted, he faces 22 years and eight months in prison and subsequent deportation to Canada.
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