At the request of his defense team, sentencing was delayed Tuesday for rapper Tory Lanez was convicted of shooting hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion in the feet in the Hollywood Hills three years ago.
Superior Court Judge David Herriford reset sentencing for Aug. 7 for the 30-year-old Canadian rap star, whose real name is Daystar Peterson.
Prosecutors are asking that the rapper be sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Defense attorneys asked for the postponement to give them additional time to file a sentencing memorandum.
During a contentious hearing last month, the judge rejected the defense’s bid for a new trial.
One of the rapper’s new attorneys, Jose Baez, called Lanez’s defense during the trial a “jumbled, bungled mess” and said
Lanez’s trial attorney, George Mgdesyan, did not have enough time to prepare for trial and ultimately “failed” his client.
“The court finds no error, prosecutorial misconduct or newly discovered evidence,” Herriford said. “Motion denied.”
Lanez, who was convicted on Dec. 23, 2022, for shooting and injuring the hip hop artist, whose legal name is Megan Pete, was initially set to be sentenced in January.
The sentencing has been delayed several times after Lanez obtained new attorneys and filed a motion for a new trial.
He faces up to 22 years and 8 months in prison.
According to a motion filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office on May 23, a new California law would by default make Lanez’s sentence come in the “middle term” of the potential 22-year sentence, unless “circumstances in aggravation” were proven. But prosecutors argued in the motion for a harsher sentence for the rapper.
In the motion obtained by ABC News, the LA DA’s office, which is prosecuting this case, argued that “circumstances of aggravation” are present in this case and cited Lanez’s “callousness.”
Prosecutors also filed a motion last week asking the judge to give the rapper a 13-year sentence.
Lanez’s attorneys, Jose Baez, and Matthew Barhoma, did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
Lanez was found guilty by a jury on Dec. 23, 2022, of three charges for shooting and injuring Megan in both feet in an incident in the Hollywood Hills on July 12, 2020.
The conviction came after Judge David Herriford of the Superior Court of Los Angeles denied Lanez’s request for a new trial in a ruling last month.
Lanez, a popular rapper whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was initially charged in October 2020 with one felony count each of assault with a semi-automatic firearm (personal use of a firearm) and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, according to charging documents obtained by ABC News.
“Personal use of a firearm” is not a separate charge, but a sentencing enhancement linked to the first count that could increase Lanez’s possible sentence.
He was also charged ahead of his trial in Dec. 2022 with an additional felony count of discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Lanez, who chose not to take the witness stand during the trial, pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
His defense attorneys argued during the trial that Lanez was not the shooter.
This case has sparked intense debates over society’s treatment of women, and Megan’s account of the incident — and the intense public vitriol she faced after sharing her story — has spotlighted the Protect Black Women movement, which addresses the two-front battle of sexism and racism Black women experience in their own communities and in society at large.
In an audio recording that accompanied the Instagram post, Lanez alleged that he “was completely robbed and deprived of a fair trial” and that he watched prosecutors “unlawfully misuse their authority to hide and suppress any and all exculpatory evidence that exonerates me and furthers my innocence.”
“… So, Mr. Gascón, I come to you today as a wrongfully convicted Black man, not asking for sympathy, nor compassion, but for you to simply do what is fair and right in the laws of California, and most importantly in the eyes of God,” he said in the recording, in which he cited the steps that Gascón has taken “in regards to fighting for the justice of Black and Brown minorities.”
Lanez has remained behind bars since he was ordered to be taken into custody shortly after the jury’s verdict was read.
Jurors deliberated about seven hours before finding him guilty of the three felony counts.
