Tory Lanez trial begins, Megan Thee Stallion testifies

Two years after rapper Tory Lanez allegedly shot fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the foot the trial has officially begun in Los Angeles.

On the morning of Dec. 13, Megan Thee Stallion (real name Megan Pete) took the stand in a Los Angeles courtroom, according to the Los Angeles Times. When asked if she was nervous, Pete replied, “I just don’t feel good … I can’t believe I have to come in here and do this.” 

Opening statements took place on Monday, the Times and Rolling Stone reported. According to transcripts that the Times obtained, the prosecution and defense detailed different versions of the fateful night.

Defense attorney George Mgdesyan stated that the case was all about “jealousy,” while prosecutor Alexander Bott argued that the two rappers got into an argument after Pete “derided Peterson’s [Lanez’s real name is Daystar Peterson] rap skills.” Following the argument, Pete allegedly asked to be let out of the car before Peterson then shot five times at her feet.

“I’m in shock. I’m scared. I hear the gun going off, and I can’t believe he’s shooting at me,” Pete said during her testimony. She also said Peterson offered both her and Kelsey Harris $1 million for their silence. Harris, Pete’s former assistant and best friend at the time, was a passenger in the vehicle, as was a bodyguard.

Harris is also set to testify that she saw Lanez fire the gun, according to Rolling Stone. Bott said in his opening statement, “Kelsey will tell you that she just saw her close friend get shot by the defendant.”

Pete also detailed why she did not initially report the shooting, the Times reports, explaining that Black Lives Matter protests were happening across the country during the summer of 2020 and the temperature of the country made her hesitate to report it. “At the time, we are at the height of police brutality … I felt like if I said this man has just shot me, they might shoot first and ask questions later … I don’t feel safe in the car. I don’t feel safe with the police officers either.”

Prosecutors also played a voicemail from Peterson that night, which was left with one of Pete’s friends. “I’m deeply sorry … so I feel crazy that I made a mistake,” Peterson reportedly said on the voicemail. “What happened, happened already. I can’t take it back. I’m just telling y’all I’m sorry.”

As theGrio previously reported, Lanez was initially charged in October 2020 with possession of an unregistered firearm in a vehicle and assault with a semiautomatic firearm in connection with the Megan Thee Stallion shooting. Last week, he was hit with a third felony charge for discharging a firearm with gross negligence. The alleged shooting took place on July 12, 2020 after a party at Kylie Jenner’s home.

Lanez has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He faces more than 22 years in prison on the three felony charges. The third charge also carries a possible deportation penalty.

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