Someone’s gnome gone till November…
Tory Lanez & Megan Thee Stallion – Source: Roy Rochlin/ Toni Anne Barson/WireImage / Getty
Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the July 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion Aug. 8, according to the Associated Press.
After several attempts for a new trial, Lanez was finally sentenced after being found guilty of shooting the rapper. As previously reported, after a nine-day trial, on Dec. 23, 2022, a unanimous guilty verdict was handed down by a jury in Los Angeles Superior Court, convicting the 31-year-old “Luv” singer of assaulting 28-year-old Megan (real name Megan Pete) with a semi-automatic firearm, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Since the shooting, Lanez behaved so irrationally with taunts and actions that no one could make sense of. The prosecution cited this in their request for 13 years behind bars.
“His online reach is worldwide (millions of followers plus casual observers) and the defendant’s statements embolden his followers so that they too have been complicit in re-traumatizing the victim,” prosecutors wrote in their memo. “He is responsible for the effect of his words and his actions.”
Lanez was sentenced after two days of court proceedings and the outcome was vastly different than what his legal team was seeking. Lanez’s lawyers requested he be released on probation and said they wanted him in a residential drug treatment program upon his release to focus on “substance abuse and traumatic childhood.”
“Assuming the allegations are true, Mr. Peterson’s psychological, physical, and childhood trauma was a factor in the commission of the offense. Likewise, the current offense is connected to Mr. Peterson’s childhood trauma and mental illness, alcohol-use disorder,” the lawyers’ filing said.
“Mr. Peterson’s alcohol-use disorder, although not amounting to a defense, reduced his culpability,” according to the memo from Lanez’s defense lawyers, Jose Baez of Miami, Florida, and Ed Welbourn of Newport Beach, California.
Naturally, Lanez’s lawyers are none too pleased with his sentencing and they told the Associated Press that their client is being used as an example.
“We’re extremely disappointed,” Lanez’s lead attorney Jose Baez said, according to AP. “I have seen vehicular homicide and other cases where there’s death, and the defendant still gets less than 10 years.”
He added that this is “really just another example of someone being punished for their celebrity status and someone being utilized to set an example. And he’s not an example. He’s a human being.”
The 10-year sentence comes as Lanez talked in court about still caring for Megan and said they bonded over losing their mothers. After almost three years of pain, drama and social media disputes, everyone involved can finally put this matter behind them.
As you can imagine, the hotties are elated and declaring the sentencing a victory.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney, George Gascón, released a statement praising Megan Thee Stallion for her bravery as this case transpired.
“I commend Megan Pete for her incredible bravery and vulnerability as she underwent months of probing investigation and court appearances where she had to relive her trauma, and the public scrutiny that followed,” Gascón’s statement read according to journalist Meghann Cuniff.
