Superior Court Judge Keith H. Borjon has ruled that Daystar “Tory Lanez” Peterson must stand trial for assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. Borjon made the decision to have Peterson stand trial after rejecting a bid to dismiss the case “for insufficiency of the evidence.”
The popular singer’s legal woes stem from an incident that occurred in Beverly Hills, California on July 12, 2020. After attending a social gathering in the area, Lanez allegedly engaged in a verbal altercation with Megan Pete, commonly known as Megan Thee Stallion. As the argument escalated, Los Angeles Police Detective Ryan Stogner testified that Peterson pulled out a gun and shouted, “Dance b*tch,” as he shot at her feet.
According to additional reporting from NME, the Houston native was initially hesitant to report what had allegedly taken place because of the recent string of police shootings that had occurred in the weeks and months prior.
“She was afraid that there had been recent police shootings, and she described her concern for the police possibly shooting the defendant since he had just committed a shooting,” Stogner told the court earlier this week, according to NME.
Peterson is also accused of calling Pete’s close friend, Kelsey Nicole, who was present at the time of the shooting, and attempting to apologize.
“I’m deeply sorry … so I feel crazy that I made a mistake. What happened, happened already. I can’t take it back. I’m just telling y’all I’m sorry,” Peterson allegedly told Nicole, according to NME.
After the latest hearing regarding the case, all parties involved expressed dissatisfaction regarding the legal process and the media’s coverage of what has taken place thus far. Peterson quickly jumped to Twitter to say that his legal team presented evidence contrary to what has been presented thus far.
“I need someone to report what was really said in court today. [There was] 45 minutes of my lawyer [providing] contradictory evidence that proves my innocence,” Peterson tweeted.
According to HotNewHipHop, the singer’s defense attorney, Shawn Holley, argued that the two musicians were involved in an intimate relationship. However, things took a turn for the worse on July 12, 2020 when Megan Thee Stallion’s friend, Kelsey, learned about the relationship. Holley claims that Kelsey Nicole had a romantic interest in Peterson and became jealous of her friend. From there, he claims that an argument ensued and Nicole “back-doored” Pete.
“I was just trying to protect my girl,” Holley claims his client told the police after the incident.
However, Nicole claims that Holley’s claim was inaccurate.
“This is all cap,” she wrote in a social media comment.
Not long thereafter, the recent college graduate took to Twitter to express frustration with media coverage of the trial.
“I’ve been shot and some [of] these headlines are dismissing that I was attacked with a [weapon] while I was unarmed. And [they are] trying to paint it as a cat fight between friends. Why do I have to relive this with everyone on the internet every day?” she tweeted.
Peterson has plead guilty to all charges and is expected to appear in court next month. If he is found guilty, he faces up to 22 years in prison.
