Update 4, Aug. 9, 2023:
A courtroom sketch shows incarcerated rapper Tory Lanez pleading with a judge for leniency at his sentencing hearing in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Lanez was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in state prison for shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion during an altercation in 2020.
Sketch artist Mona Shafer Edwards drew Lanez with both arms outstretched towards Superior Court Judge David Herriford as he spoke in court.
The former rapper was clad in an orange jumpsuit issued by the L.A. County Men’s Jail. His hands were shackled to a chain around his small waist.
Lanez told the judge he took “full responsibility” for his actions that night in Calabasas, CA.
“If I could turn back the series of events that night and change them, I would,” Lanez said. “The victim was my friend. The victim is someone I still care for to this day. Everything I did wrong that night, I take full responsibility for.”
Lanez was convicted in December 2022 of felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with intent to cause bodily injury.
Update 3, Aug. 8, 2023:
Tory Lanez received less than the maximum sentence for shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion in her feet in 2020.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Herriford sentenced the troubled rapper to 10 years in state prison on Tuesday.
The sentencing hearing – which began on Monday at 10:30 a.m. PST, resumed on Tuesday to allow more character witnesses to testify.
Lanez’s legal team submitted 76 letters to the judge in support of the rapper. One of the letters was from his 6-year-old son.
Another letter was from a doctor who treated Lanez for hair loss. The doctor wrote, “Tory Lanez has helped others in the community suffering from hair loss.”
Megan didn’t appear in court, but she wrote a letter to be read in court on Monday.
She told the judge that she hasn’t had a single day of peace since the shooting.
Megan called for Tory to receive “the full weight of the law.”
Lanez must serve 85% of his sentence before he is eligible for early release. Then he will be deported back to Canada.
Update 2, Aug. 7, 2023:
Tory Lanez’s sentencing hearing will resume on Tuesday (August 8) at 10:30 a.m.
Court reporter Meghann Cuniff, who spent all day in the courtroom, sounded frustrated when she updated her Twitter followers at 7:27 p.m. Monday.
“Incredibly, Judge Herriford managed to not finish today. We are coming back tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. A few more things to talk about, then argument, then Herriford will sentence Tory Lanez,” she wrote. “Megan did not speak in person, but she submitted a statement that DA Kathy to read aloud.”
Incredibly, Judge Herriford managed to not finish today. We are coming back tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. A few more things to talk about, then argument, then Herriford will sentence Tory Lanez.
Megan did not speak in person, but she submitted a statement that DA Kathy Ta read aloud.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) August 7, 2023
Megan said mercy is for people who show remorse, and Lanez has shown none. She thanked for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for their support. She wants the sentence to be a message for everyone woman of violence.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) August 7, 2023
Megan said she struggled with whether to attend in person, and her absence should be seen as her preserving her mental well being. She said since Tory shot her, "I've not experienced a single day of piece."
"He lied to anyone that would listen," Megan said of Lanez.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) August 7, 2023
Originally published on: Aug 7, 2023 at 4:28 PM:
Tory Lanez will be sentenced today (Aug, 7) for shooting fellow rapper Meghan Thee Stallion in both feet in 2020.
After numerous delays, Lanez was brought to court today for his sentencing hearing at 1:30 p.m. PST, 4:30 p.m. EST.
Iggy Azalea wrote a letter to Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Herriford pleading for leniency for the troubled rapper.
Iggy, who briefly dated Lanez, reportedly asked for a sentence that would be “transformational, not life destroying.”
Iggy Azalea when her baby daddy goes to jail: “Karma is real”
Iggy Azalea when Tory Lanez is being sentenced for shooting a black woman in the foot: “pls don’t ruin his life ?”
— not keila (@thisnotKei) August 7, 2023
Lanez’s lawyers asked for probation.
According to Los Angeles court reporter Meghann Cuniff, the judge received over 70 letters of support for Lanez, including one written by his 6-year-old son, and two letters from jail guards.
The Canadian rapper, real name Daystar Peterson, was convicted in December 2022 of shooting Megan Thee Stallion while yelling for her to dance on July 12, 2020 in Hollywood Hills, CA.
Lanez faces a maximum of 13 years in prison. After serving his sentence, the former rapper will be deported back to Canada.
