Dec. 24 (UPI) — Canadian rapper Tory Lanez was convicted Friday of shooting fellow artist Megan Thee Stallion in both her feet after an argument in 2020.
Lanez, 30, was found guilty of three charges including assault with a semiautomatic handgun, carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence, The New York Times and CNN reported.
The verdict was reached by the jurors after seven hours of deliberation over two days after a trial that lasted nearly two weeks.
Lanez, who has been out on bail, was taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs after the verdict was read. He previously pleaded not guilty to the charges faces up to 22 years in prison during his sentencing — which is scheduled for Jan. 27 — and possible deportation to Canada.
Megan Thee Stallion, who previously testified in the case, was not present in the courtroom for the verdict, according to the reports.
During her testimony, the hip-hop artist said she was riding in a car with Lanez and her former friend and assistant Kelsey Harris on the way home from an event at the home of reality star Kyle
Lanez wanted Megan Thee Stallion to tell Harris that the two had been intimate with each other which created a tense situation in the car, she testified. She testified that she then exited the car and began walking away when Lanez yelled at her to “dance” before firing at her.
Lawyers for Lanez argued during the trial that Harris and Megan Thee Stallion had been arguing over him that night, implying that the assistant may have been motivated to shoot her friend, The New York Times reported.
George Gascón, the district attorney for Los Angeles County, told CNN in a statement that Megan Thee Stallion “showed incredible courage and vulnerability” by testifying in the case.
