An attorney for Tory Lanez entered a not guilty plea Wednesday in a Los Angeles County court, where the Canadian rapper has been charged with shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion in July.
Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, was not in court on Wednesday; the plea was entered by attorney Shawn Holley, TMZ reported.
Lanez has used social media to profess his innocence of the charges — assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and inflicting great bodily injury, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
LA County prosecutors did not name Megan Thee Stallion, 25, whose real name is Megan Pete, as the victim, but she accused Lanez in an Instagram live video after weeks of speculation.
“Yes, this n**** Tory shot me,” she said. “You shot me and you got your publicist and your people going to these blogs lying.”
The incident took place after the two got into an argument while traveling in an SUV in the Hollywood Hills. Prosecutors said that when the victim got out of the vehicle, Lanez fired several shots at her feet, wounding her. Police responded to the July 12 call and took Lanez into custody and said an unnamed woman was taken to the hospital with a foot injury.
A video shot with police on the scene appears to show Lanez on the ground outside the SUV. Megan is on the sidewalk, limping and leaving what appears to be bloody footprints as she attempts to walk. Another woman is also seen getting out of the SUV and following police instructions to get down on the ground.
Lanez faces up to 22 years and 8 months in prison if he’s convicted.
After his initial arrest, Lanez posted $190,000 bond and was ordered to stay away from Megan.
In a recent interview in GQ magazine, Megan said that Lanez offered her money to keep quiet about the incident, TMZ reported, but she told him, “I can’t believe you even think I want to take some money. Like, you just shot me.”
An attorney for Lanez sent a statement to TMZ saying that the rapper “has never offered money to any witness for their silence or for any other reason. Any reports to the contrary are false.”
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[Featured image: Megan Thee Stallion in 2019. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)]
