D.A. Says Tory Lanez Deserves Longer Sentence For Megan Thee Stallion Shooting: ‘Indifference for Human Life’

Los Angeles prosecutors are asking a judge to impose a harsh sentence against rapper Tory Lanez after he was convicted last year of shooting Megan Thee Stallion, arguing he behaved with “indifference for human life” at a moment when Megan was “particularly vulnerable.”

Following his December conviction on three felony counts, Lanez (real name Daystar Peterson) faces a maximum of 22 years when he’s sentenced next month. But California law only allows courts to impose such “higher term” sentences when prosecutors have proven there are “aggravating circumstances.”

In a new filing on Tuesday (May 23) obtained by Billboard, attorneys for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office said Lanez’s conduct clearly met those circumstances. Among other things, they said Lanez had fired the gun not just at Megan one time, but five times “in the middle of a residential neighborhood.”

“The brazenness of defendant’s conduct is alarming but the conscious disregard for the well-being and safety of all those around him signifies a high degree of indifference for human life,” prosecutors wrote.

The filing also said Megan had been “particularly vulnerable” at the moment of the crime, another factor that can serve as aggravating circumstances. She had been “unarmed and completely defenseless,” they wrote, while “dressed in only a bikini, shoeless and on foot in a neighborhood completely foreign to her.”

“As she walked away from defendant, unaware he was armed with a firearm, defendant fired multiple rounds at victim striking her bare feet,” the filing said. “She was afforded no opportunity and was in no position to defend herself, find cover, or shield herself in any way. Besides an argument in the car, there was no justifiable provocation or event that would have signaled to her that defendant would have fired a gun at her, not just once but five times.”

Attorneys for Lanez did not immediately return a request for comment on the new filing.

Lanez was convicted on Dec. 23 on three felony charges over the mid-2020 incident, during which the rapper allegedly shot Megan (real name Megan Pete) in the foot during an argument after a pool party in the Hollywood Hills.

The shooting happened in the early-morning hours of July 12, 2020, when a driver was shuttling Lanez, Megan and her assistant and friend Kelsey Harris from a party at Kylie Jenner’s house. According to prosecutors, Megan got out of the vehicle during an argument and began walking away when Lanez shouted “Dance, bitch!” and proceeded to shoot at her feet.

Following the incident, Megan initially told police officers that she had cut her foot stepping on broken glass, but days later alleged that she had been shot. Lanez was eventually charged with the shooting in October 2022.

During the blockbuster trial, Lanez’s lawyers made their best effort to sow doubt over who had pulled the trigger, painting a scenario in which Harris could have been the shooter. But a key defense witness offered confusing eyewitness testimony, and prosecutors pointed to an earlier interview in which Harris pinned the blame squarely on Lanez. Megan herself offered powerful testimony that Lanez had been the one to shoot her; neither Lanez nor the driver took the witness stand.

Following the guilty verdict, Lanez’s attorneys filed a motion seeking a new trial. They called the case a “miscarriage of justice,” arguing that Judge David Herriford made numerous errors that had put their client at an unfair advantage.

But that motion was denied last month, clearing the way for sentencing. A hearing is currently set for June 13, but such scheduled events have often been pushed back in Lanez’s case.