Everything We Know About The Tory Lanez And Megan Thee Stallion Trial
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Tory Lanez has been released from house arrest. On Dec. 5, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Herriford issued the ruling as jury selection for the rapper’s felony assault case began.
Lanez is facing several charges for the alleged 2020 shooting of Grammy-award-winner, Megan Thee Stallion. On Monday, before bringing in the first round of prospective jurors, Judge David Herriford explained his decision to release the Canadian Hip-Hop star.
“I will terminate the house arrest at this point. The main reason is that during trial, it’s difficult to have a client who’s not accessible,” he said according to Rolling Stone. “I’m doing this mainly for the trial preparation aspect.” Bond for Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, has been set for $350,000.
Megan’s lawyer, Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta, objected to the court’s decision. She argued that Lanez “allegedly tried to “sway” and “intimidate” witnesses previously in the case.” Ta said that some of the witnesses may “fear” being “in reach of” the rapper once testimonies begin. She requested that Lanez keep his ankle monitor on during the trial, but the judge dismissed her request.
Tory Lanez reportedly violated his protective order against Megan Thee Stallion
Multiple media outlets reported that Lanez, 30, sat in silence as pre-trial motions began during Monday’s court session. Back in October, Judge Herriford placed the star on house arrest after news of his assault involving R&B singer August Alsina surfaced in September. At the time, court officials said Lanez was “a danger to society” and that he had a history of “defying court orders,” according to CBS Los Angeles.
Prosecutors based their decision on Lanez’s repeated violation of Megan Thee Stallion’s protective order. Under the terms of the order, Lanez was prohibited from contacting or coming within 100 yards of the Houston femcee. In August, the rapper’s bail was increased after he performed at the same festival as Megan Thee Stallion. He also violated the order when he shared several tweets criticizing the rapper and the investigation online.
As previously reported, Tory Lanez is facing several hefty charges stemming from his alleged shooting of Megan Thee Stallion in July 2020. During Meg’s emotional interview on GMA in August, the rapper said that Lanez got into a dispute with two unidentified subjects after they left a party at Kylie Jenner’s house in Hollywood Hills.
Meg and her close friend Kelsey Harris a.k.a. Kelsey Nicole were in the car as Lanez began feuding with the two unidentified people in the backseat. The “Hot Girl Summer” rapper demanded to get out of the car as the tension came to a boiling point. According to Meg, as she walked out of the vehicle, Lanez, who was allegedly “intoxicated,” at the time, shouted “Dance, bitch!” right before pulling the trigger at her foot. He has since been charged with a felony assault and faces a maximum sentence of 23 years if convicted.
Reality TV stars Kylie Jenner and Corey Gamble could be required to testify
During Monday’s trial, Lanez’ lawyer George G. Mgdesyan told the courtroom that he never attempted to bribe or intimidate anyone. During her GMA interview, Megan alleged that Lanez tried to offer her and witnesses “a million dollars” to stay quiet about the incident.
“She says that my client told her to lie and offered her money because he’s on probation and didn’t want to get arrested. My client has never been on probation,” Mgdesyan told the courtroom as he pushed back against the allegation. “If he’s required to have a monitor on his ankle in front of jurors, I think it’s just punitive. It doesn’t serve any purpose. If he’s going to dissuade a witness, all probation is going to know is where he is. It doesn’t mean he can’t meet with that person.”
Mgdesyan named reality TV stars Kylie Jenner and Kris Jenner’s boyfriend Corey Gamble as witnesses. He said they were present during the party that led up to the 2020 shooting.
“The argument, everything started there,” Mgdesyan told Rolling Stone after the hearing, referring to Kylie’s mansion. There’s no guarantee that Jenner and Gamble will be required to appear in court, but Mgdesyan believes their testimonies could offer more context into how the “incident began.”
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