Tory Lanez. Picture: Instagram
Tory Lanez has been jailed for 10 years for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.
The 31-year-old rapper - whose real name is Daystar Peterson - was convicted in December of three felony counts, including assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence, in connection with the 2020 incident, and following a series of delays, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Herriford told him he'd be spending a decade behind bars, after prosecutors had pushed for a 13-year term.
Before the announcement, the judge had received over 70 letters of support for the rapper, including one from Iggy Azalea who urged the court to impose a sentence that was "transformational, not life destroying."
A number of witnesses also spoke during the hearing, which began on Monday and continued into Tuesday, including Lanez’s father, Sonstar Peterson, Raina Chassagne - who has a six-year-old son with the rapper - and a chaplain, who told the court the 'Say It' hitmaker has "lessened tensions" between inmates in the protective custody unit after starting a daily prayer.
While Thee Stallion didn't appear in court this week, District Attorney Kathy Ta read a victim impact statement on her behalf.
“He not only shot me, he made a mockery of my trauma. He tried to position himself as a victim and set out to destroy my character and my soul.
“At first, he tried to deny the shooting ever happened. Then, he attempted to place the blame on my former best friend.
"In his tantrum of lies, he’s blamed the system, blamed the press and, as of late, he’s using his childhood trauma to shield himself and avoid culpability.
"He must be forced to face the full consequences of his heinous actions and face justice.”
Lanez - who has denied the charges - reportedly told the court he "still cares" about the 'WAP' hitmaker and considers her a "friend".
Legal journalist Meghann Cuniff, who was present for the hearing, tweeted: “Tory spoke for several minutes. He said he still cares about Megan. He called her ‘someone I still care for dearly to this day’ regardless of what she may think of him. He said ‘the victim’s my friend.’ He talked about bonding with her over the loss of their mothers.
" “We both lost our mothers. We would sit there and drink, and drink until we got numb.”
"Regarding the shooting, Lanez added, “I said some very immature things that I shouldn’t have said. I revealed some secrets I shouldn’t have revealed.” (sic)"
The 'Hurts Me' singer has up to 60 days to appeal his sentence.