Tory begged the judge not to ruin his life yesterday, but today the judge and his gavel swiftly reminded the pint-sized rapper that he did that himself that night when he decided to play Yosemite Sam in 2020.
It’s been a long road (that probably still won’t end anytime soon) but today the world learned that Tory Lanez will not be receiving a new trial in his case where he was found guilty on gun charges in relation to shooting Megan Thee Stallion. He and his team have vehemently denied these claims and fought back against the verdict. On Monday (May 8), Judge Herriford adjourned a long hearing where both sides made their cases, whether for a new proceeding or sticking by the original ruling.
In December, a Los Angeles jury found Lanez guilty of shooting fellow rapper Megan in both feet in 2020. During Monday’s hearing, the rapper, real name Daystar Peterson, pleaded with Judge David Herriford to grant him a new trial based on “newly discovered evidence.”
“Please, sir, don’t ruin my life. I could be your son. I could be your brother,” Lanez reportedly told the judge, who is Black.
Lanez’s attorneys filed a motion for a new trial two months ago. His sentencing hearing was pushed back several times pending the judge’s decision on a new hearing. Lanez fired his previous attorneys, claiming “ineffective counsel,” and retained lawyers Matthew Barhoma and Jose Baez to represent him.
Among the evidence for a new trial is new DNA that the lawyers believed would exonerate Lanez and keep him from going to prison.During the initial trial, a DNA sample from the gun came back “inconclusive.” But legal affairs journalist Meghann Cuniff tweeted that the DNA is not based on new evidence.
“One big thing from today: It was made clear that the argument that Lanez’s DNA is excluded from the gun is NOT based on new evidence. It’s a new expert analyzing the same DNA evidence prosecutors used in trial and that Lanez’s original expert analyzed as inclusive.”
Their argument also included Lanez team claiming that they though his rap lyrics filled with disses to Megan and music videos where he butchered horse legs should not have been considered in the original jury’s decision. However, Judge Herriford shut all of that down today when he ruled that there will definitely not a new trial in this case. Herriford went through the seven main arguments from Lanez’s lawyers and dismantled each one. He concluded there were no errors. But he also said even if he concluded each error existed, the errors didn’t have a material affect on the outcome of the trial to warrant a new trial.
Next, Lanez is expected to be sentenced, where he faces up to 22 years in prison. Given how he’s managed to drag it out this far, it’s almost a sure thing that he’ll appeal whatever he receives, but we’ll keep you posted as this drags on. Thoughts?
Tory Lanez WILL NOT get a new trial for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. This is according to Judge David Herriford, who ruled from the bench a few minutes ago.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) May 9, 2023
Herriford went through the seven main arguments from Lanez's lawyers and dismantled each one. He concluded there were no errors. But he also said even if he concluded each error existed, the errors didn't have a material affect on the outcome of the trial to warrant a new trial.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) May 9, 2023
