In a courtroom whose atmosphere turned chaotic at the end of a tense trial, a jury in The Angels found the rapper Tory Lanez guilty of three felonies for having shot the star Megan Thee Stallion in 2020.
Due to that attack, the hip-hop singer was injured with bullet fragments in one foot and now Lanez could be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
Lanez, who was handcuffed for transfer to prison, wore a pink coat that matched his pants, and showed no reaction during the verdict reading on Friday.
However, moments after the jury was escorted out, the defendant’s father, Sonstar Peterson, jumped to his feet and yelled, “This evil system is being judged by Almighty God.” The agents of the place went towards him immediately.
The father pointed at the two prosecutors and yelled at them: “You are vile and perverse people. You know exactly what you have done.”
The officers struggled with Peterson to remove him from the courtroom as he continued to yell in the hallway.
The jury of seven women and five men, which began its deliberations Thursday, found the Canadian rapper, 30, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, guilty of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, possession of a loaded firearm and lacking registration in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with complete negligence.
Jurors also agreed that there were aggravating elements to the assault, meaning Lanez could face up to 22 years in prison and deportation when sentenced on January 25.
Three young children, including Lanez’s son, sat in the front row of the courtroom as the verdict was read.
A little girl cried and was hugged by Lanez’s stepmother, who had tears in her eyes and also started screaming along with her husband.
Others in the audience agreed, and one woman yelled “we love you, Tory” as the artist was led away.
Supporters of Megan and Lanez remained outside the courthouse for most of the eight days of the trial, jamming the courtroom and hallway.
Despite the tensions, the place had remained mostly quiet until the verdict was read.
Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, testified during the trial that Lanez fired a gun into the back of her feet and yelled at her to dance as she was getting out of an SUV in which the two were driving through the Hollywood Hills. during the summer of 2020.
Megan said the two had an argument that turned heated when she started insulting his music. She underwent surgery to remove the bullet fragments from her foot.
Lanez began issuing tapes in 2009 and due to his rise in popularity he went on to major label albums. The two most recent of hers have reached the top 10 on the Billboard charts.
Megan Thee Stallion was already a rising star when the incident occurred and her prominence has increased since then. She won a Grammy for Best Artist in 2021 and had a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with her author’s song “Savage,” which features her. Beyonceand was a guest on the show “WAP“by Cardi B.
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Associated Press journalist Andrew Dalton is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
