Rapper Tory Lanez was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for shooting hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion in the feet in the Hollywood Hills just over three years ago, despite his pleas that he be given a chance at “redemption.”
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Herriford handed down the sentence after a hearing that stretched over two days and saw prosecutors ask for a prison term of 13 years, while defense attorneys produced an array of witnesses in hopes of sparing their client from incarceration, by highlighting his charitable work and devotion to his 6-year-old son.
The 31-year-old Canadian rapper, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, was convicted Dec. 23 of one felony count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Lanez has been behind bars since he was ordered to be taken into custody shortly after the jury’s verdict was read.
Prior to sentence being pronounced, Lanez stood in court Tuesday and said he takes “full responsibility” for his actions and recognizes the seriousness of what he did.
“I understand how serious my charges are,” he said. “… I don’t take it lightly.”
But Lanez asked the judge to consider an alternate sentence outside of prison that would allow him to be a betterment to society and show the world that what they’ve seen and heard during the trial “is not me.”
“I’m asking for redemption,” he said. “… I’m asking for another chance.”
Lanez told the judge there is a misconception about him “being this monster” and “not having any remorse.”
“It’s just not true,” he said, pleading for a chance to be a father to his son, a mentor and contributor to society and a “light to people in dark places.”
“I truly am just trying to be a better person,” he said.
One of his attorneys, Jose Baez, also argued for a non-prison sentence, noting his charitable endeavors and his behavior while in jail, noting that he began doing daily prayer calls while behind bars.
“We’re talking about foolish, reckless behavior that could have been much worse,” Baez said of the shooting. “The intent was not to take someone’s life.”
During the trial, Megan Thee Stallion testified that Lanez shot her during an argument on July 12, 2020, following a get-together at Kylie Jenner’s home. She said she had no doubt that Lanez fired the shots, and that he later offered her $1 million not to say anything. According to the singer, Lanez told her to “dance, bitch,” and then shot her in the feet.
In court Monday, a statement was read by Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta on behalf of Megan Thee Stallion, who said she has not experienced “a single day of peace” since she was shot.
“He not only shot me. He made a mockery of my trauma,” the entertainer said, adding that she can’t bring herself to be in the same room again with Lanez.
During the two-day sentencing hearing, more than a half-dozen witnesses, including Peterson’s father, Sonstar, and the mother of Peterson’s 6-year-old son were called to testify on Lanez’s behalf, discussing his devastation over the death of his own mother when he was 11 and his subsequent charitable efforts throughout the country even before he became well-known.
“I don’t think anybody ever gets over that,” Sonstar Peterson said of his youngest son’s reaction to his mother’s untimely death. But he noted that music became an outlet for his son.
The mother of Peterson’s son called him “the most supportive father” who knows how to put his son first. She urged the judge to “please be as lenient as possible,” calling the rapper the rock of the family.
A chaplain from the Los Angeles County jail described Lanez as standing out in jail by leading a prayer call, working with other inmates and having a positive attitude.
The judge said he had received more than 70 letters on Lanez’s behalf, including one from musician Iggy Azalea, whom he said had requested a sentence that was “transformational, not life-destroying,” along with one from Lanez’ young son.
Herriford said he found that the prosecution had proven two aggravating factors involving the use of weapon and a particularly vulnerable victim, but had not proven a third aggravating factor — that the crime involved a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness.
Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said Monday that Megan Thee Stallion has physical and emotional scarring that will be with her for the rest of her life, saying the shooting ensued after nothing more than a verbal argument about “artistry.” He also accused Lanez of putting the victim “through hell while the case was pending.”
Baez said Peterson “admittedly was highly intoxicated” the night of the shooting and didn’t even remember afterward what the topic of the argument was. He said Lanez would benefit from a live-in substance abuse treatment program.
But Bott said the case had nothing to do with mental illness, saying Lanez shot Megan because she “bruised his ego.”
“The shooting was because of the argument in the car,” the prosecutor said, calling it an “act of misogny” against her.
Baez called that argument “nuts.” He said there was “no denying that alcohol was involved,” and urged the judge to consider Lanez’ history of childhood trauma, including his mother dying when he was 11.
Another of his attorneys, Ed Welbourn, said a probationary sentence would allow Lanez to seek the treatment that he needs.
In April, Lanez posted a video and statement on Instagram addressed to District Attorney George Gascón, saying, “Today I take a stance as an innocent Black man, wrongfully convicted of a crime I did not commit.
Lanez alleged in the post that he “was completely robbed and deprived of a fair trial” and that he watched prosecutors “unlawfully misuse their authority to hide and suppress any and all exculpatory evidence that exonerates me and furthers my innocence.”
“… So, Mr. Gascón, I come to you today as a wrongfully convicted Black man, not asking for sympathy, nor compassion, but for you to simply do what is fair and right in the laws of California, and most importantly in the eyes of God,” he said in the recording, in which he cited the steps that Gascón has taken “in regards to fighting for the justice of Black and Brown minorities.”
Under cross-examination during the trial, the Grammy Award-winning Megan Thee Stallion — whose real name is Megan Pete — said she initially had no intention of talking about what had happened and “didn’t want to be a snitch,” but felt she had to “defend my name” when she saw that people were “making things up” and suggesting that she hadn’t been shot.
In an essay published on Elle magazine’s website, she wrote, “As I reflect on the past three years, I view myself as a survivor, because I have truly survived the unimaginable.”
“Not only did I survive being shot by someone I trusted and considered a close friend, but I overcame the public humiliation of having my name and reputation dragged through the mud by that individual for the entire world to see,” she wrote.
In a sentencing memorandum, the prosecutors wrote that Lanez “brazenly fired five rounds, emptying his gun, at a vulnerable victim” and that the shooting left Pete “bleeding, injured and traumatized.”
“And since that night, the defendant has waged a campaign to humiliate and retraumatize the victim through his actions and words,” the prosecutors wrote in their court filing. “His online posts for nearly three years have retraumatized the victim. His online reach is worldwide (millions of followers plus casual observers) and the defendant’s statements embolden his followers so that they too have been complicit in retraumatizing the victim.”
Lanez’ attorneys said they plan to file a motion asking that he be given the chance to post bail while an appeal of his conviction is pending.