Megan Thee Stallion‘s shooting trial against rapper Tory Lanez kicked off at the criminal courts building in Los Angeles (LA), California, on Monday, and on the first day of proceedings, a few eyebrow-raising points were made on both sides of the bench.
Megan and Tory shooting trial: A summary of the first day
Lanez is facing three felony counts of assault for his alleged role in the shooting that rocked Hollywood Hills in July 2020. If convicted of all three charges, the Canadian star could face a 20-year prison term.
On Monday, 12 December 2022, Lanez entered a not-guilty plea and his lawyer, George G Mgdesyan insisted his evidence would show that, in fact, the gunshot injury Megan sustained on her foot was caused by her former best friend, Kelsey Nicole Harris.
During opening statements, LA County deputy district attorney Alexander Bott revealed that Harris was prepared to testify “that she just saw her close friend get shot by the defendant.”
The defence has, thus far, placed the blame squarely on Harris. This early into proceedings, it seems Mgdesyan’s plan is to not challenge the ballistic evidence the State is leaning on. It is without a doubt that a firearm was discharged and struck Megan on her foot.
The key question of contention, at this juncture, is whether the Traumazine rapper was shot at by her former best friend or Tory. The Say It star will likely also call up witnesses to build a narrative around jealousy that started brewing at Kylie Jenner’s party.
One of the witnesses expected to fend for Tory is Kris Jenner‘s boyfriend, Corey Gamble. It’s reported that Gamble will likely provide more insight into the events that led up to the fiery car ride away from the house party.
The State, on the other hand, has several strong pieces of evidence to build its case, albeit nowhere in its collection is there a direct link to Lanez being the one who released the firearm that morning.
According to reports, Bott played a portion of a voice message Tory Lanez sent Megan after the incident, where he was heard profusely apologising for being ‘too drunk’ at the time of the shooting. Again, the ‘LUV‘ rapper did not verbatim admit to being the shooter.
Bott also teased a string of text messages Harris sent to Meg’s bodyguard, Justin Edison, where she wrote:
- “Help.”
- “Tory Shot Meg.”
- “911.”
The Megan and Tory shooting trial will resume on Tuesday, 13 December 2022 where Meg is expected to take the stand.