Rapper Tory Lanez Pleads Not Guilty In Shooting Of Megan Thee Stallion
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Canadian rapper Tory Lanez pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he shot fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion back in July while the two were driving through the Hollywood Hills.
An attorney for the 28-year-old Lanez appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom and entered not guilty pleas on Lanez's behalf for one felony count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. Lanez also faces allegations that he personally used a firearm and inflicted great bodily injury
He remains free on $190,000 bail. The next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 20.
The alleged shooting occurred in the early morning hours of July 12 after Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, got into an argument while riding in an SUV in the Hollywood Hills, according to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office.
As Pete was getting out of the vehicle, Lanez allegedly shot at her feet several times, wounding her.
A few days after the shooting, Pete took to social media to disclose that she had suffered gunshot wounds to her feet after attending a pool party in the Hills.
In an editorial that appeared in The New York Times last month, Pete says Lanez shot her twice.
"I was recently the victim of an act of violence by a man," she wrote. "After a party, I was shot twice as I walked away from him. We were not in a relationship. Truthfully, I was shocked that I ended up in that place."
L.A. County Sheriff's Department inmate records show that Lanez was arrested at 4:40 a.m. on the day of the shooting.
Prosecutors brought charges against Lanez on Oct. 8. The following day he took to Twitter, telling his two million followers, "The truth will come to light…I have all faith in God to show that…love to all my fans and people that have stayed true to me & know my heart…A charge is not a conviction. If you have supported me or meg thru this, I genuinely appreciate u."
At a court hearing last month, Lanez was ordered to stay away from Pete.
He faces a maximum sentence of 22 years and eight months in state prison if convicted as charged.
