Canadian rapper sentenced to 10 years in prison in Megan Thee Stallion shooting

(Reuters) – Canadian rapper Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday, more than seven months after he was found guilty of shooting fellow music artist Megan Thee Stallion during an argument in 2020.

Judge David Herriford handed down the sentence to the 30-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, during a hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court that had been pushed back by delays.

On Dec. 23, a jury found Lanez guilty of carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, assault with a semiautomatic handgun and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.

Lanez was accused of shooting Grammy-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion, 28, injuring her feet after a pool party in the Hollywood Hills in July 2020.

The shooting was preceded by an argument that escalated when the two men began attacking each other's music careers, she told the court during the two-week trial.

Megan Thee Stallion, born Megan Pete, required surgery and spent four days in the hospital before physiotherapy allowed her to walk again.

She did not attend the sentencing hearing, saying she couldn't stand being in the same room as Lanez, but wrote a statement that was read in court Monday, the New reported York Times.

“Not only did he shoot me, he made fun of my trauma,” the statement said. “This is a statement to all survivors that their lives matter and that there is zero tolerance for the torture that accompanies violence.”

Jose Baez, a defense attorney representing Lanez, told reporters outside the courthouse that he believed the sentence was too harsh and that Lanez would appeal his conviction, saying he did not benefited from a fair trial. Lanez's lawyers had asked for a sentence of probation.

“I've seen homicide cases, other cases where there was a death and the person still got less than 10 years,” Baez said. “This is just another example of someone being punished for their celebrity status, someone being used as an example.”

Megan Thee Stallion won Grammy Awards for Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song in 2021. She was also nominated for six others.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, whose office prosecuted the case, said after the December verdict that women, particularly black women, were afraid to report crimes such as assault and sexual violence because too often we did not believe them.

“The fact that Ms. Pete is a successful artist has highlighted the important issue of violence against women,” he told reporters after the verdict.

(Reporting by Jane Ross in Los Angeles and Jonathan Allen in New York; writing by Brendan O'Brien; editing by Aurora Ellis and Lisa Shumaker)