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A California appellate court has denied two legal petitions from rapper Tory Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, as he serves a 10-year prison sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in 2020. The decision marks a significant setback for Lanez, though his primary legal challenge to the conviction remains ongoing.
On Tuesday, a three-justice panel rejected a pair of so-called habeas corpus petitions filed by Lanez. These petitions are a legal recourse used to argue that a person's imprisonment is unlawful, often by introducing evidence or arguments not presented during the initial trial. In his filings, Lanez's legal team argued, among other points, that the gun allegedly used in the shooting had gone "missing." However, the court was not persuaded by these arguments, effectively dismissing this specific avenue of appeal. The ruling affirms that the issues raised were insufficient to overturn his conviction on these grounds.
While this is a loss for the Canadian rapper, the court's decision does not affect his main appeal, which challenges the verdict and sentence from his original trial. That direct appeal will be heard separately, with oral arguments scheduled to proceed. The habeas petitions were intended to supplement the main appeal with information outside the original trial court record, a strategy that has now been blocked by the appellate judges. Lanez was convicted in December 2022 on three felony counts: assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
The case stems from a July 2020 incident where Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, was shot in the feet after a party in the Hollywood Hills. The high-profile trial drew international attention and Lanez was ultimately sentenced in August 2023. As Lanez continues to serve his sentence, his legal team will now focus solely on the pending direct appeal challenging the conviction, which will be decided by the same appellate court at a later date.
