'Intoxicated' rapper Tory Lanez shouted 'dance b**ch!' as he shot at Megan Thee Stallion's feet and offered to pay her hush money after roadside spat following pool party at Kylie Jenner's home in 2020, detective testifies
Tory Lanez shouted 'dance b**ch!' when he allegedly fired shots at the feet of fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion last year after Kylie Jenner's pool party, a Los Angeles detective testified in court Tuesday.
'As she exited the vehicle, she heard Mr. Peterson yelling obscenities at her, and he stated, 'Dance, bitch!' And he then began firing a weapon at her,' Detective Ryan Stogner said during Lanez's preliminary hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The officer also alleged that Lanez - real name Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson - was intoxicated during the July 2020 shooting, and Stogner reaffirmed the Savage singer's claim that Lanez tried to bribe her to keep quiet, Rolling Stone reported.
'Megan stated the defendant apologized for doing it and offered her money and begged her to please not say anything and made a reference to the fact he was already on probation and he begged her not to say anything,' Stogner testified.
Lanez, who has repeatedly denied the allegations, shouted in court at the officer on Tuesday: 'How about you tell me what I was apologizing for, bro? That don't make no sense.'
The rapper is charged with one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and one count of carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle following the altercation at the side of the road after the two left Jenner's pool party.
Megan was attempting to get out of the SUV she was in with Lanez when he opened fire inside the vehicle. Footage also showed police ordering the pair to leave the vehicle and put their hands in the air as her feet left bloody prints on the sidewalk.
Prosecutors also alleged he inflicted great bodily damage to Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete.
Lanez has pleaded not guilty to the charges and defended himself on social media.
However, despite his claims of innocence, after hearing Tuesday's testimonies, the judge has decided to move forward with a trial which is set to begin January 13. Lanez faces up to 22 years and 8 months in prison if convicted.
Tory Lanez shouted 'dance b**ch, dance!' when he allegedly fired shots at the feet of fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, a Los Angeles detective testified in court Tuesday
Det. Ryan Stogner alleged Lanez apologized to Megan (pictured during the July 2020 shooting) after he shot and injured her, begged her not to tell authorities and even offered her money to remain quiet because he was on probationAccording to Stogner's testimony, Lanez shot at Megan's feet during a dispute the pair had after a Hollywood Hills party.
He claimed Lanez was standing on the step board of a SUV, with Megan outside of it, when he fired the shots. The Hot Girl Summer hitmaker instantly fell to the ground in pain and attempted to crawl away.
'[Megan] observed Mr. Peterson holding a firearm, and then she observed him start to shoot,' Stogner said.
'Megan immediately felt pain to her feet, observed blood, fell to the ground, and then crawled to an adjacent driveway of a residence…She described her injuries as bleeding profusely.'
A video released back in July 2020 showed the moment Megan was shot, fell and started crawling, a scene that mirrors Stogner's report.
The detective also explained how Megan initially told responding officers that she obtained her injuries by stepping on broken glass, according to TMZ.
She later admitted that she lied about the situation because of the 'political climate' at the time, which was heavily focused on George Floyd's slaying and the Defund the Police movement.
Megan claimed she was afraid police would shoot Lanez if they knew he had a gun in the vehicle, Stogner testified, echoing claims Megan herself has previously made.
Lanez (right) was charged with one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and one count of carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The DA also alleged he inflicted great bodily damage to Megan (left) during the July 2020 incident
Megan shared pictures of her foot injuries after the shooting
Lanez's attorney, Shawn Holley - attempting to poke holes in his testimony - grilled Stogner and posed an alternative narrative for the attack.
Holley alleged that Megan had engaged in a physical altercation with her friend and former assistant, Kelsey Harris, after Harris became jealous of that Lanez and Megan were having a sexual relationship.
'Did (Megan) tell you at some point that the argument in the car escalated when Tory revealed to Kelsey that he was in an intimate relationship with Megan?' Holley asked.
'I'm not aware of that,' Stogner replied.
'Do you remember her saying that Tory bringing that up created, in her words, 'drama' because Megan knew Kelsey had a romantic interest in Tory?' Holley questioned.
'There was a reference that Megan was aware that Kelsey had some affection for the defendant,' Stogner said before acknowledging that Megan told him during their interviews that 'she and Kelsey were arguing'.
Lanez's attorney, Shawn Holley, alleged in court Tuesday that Megan (left) had engaged in a physical altercation with her friend and former assistant, Kelsey Harris, after Harris became jealous of that Lanez (right) and Megan were having a sexual relationship
Holley then argued that Lanez fired shots in an effort to protect Megan from Harris, citing police body camera footage where he said: 'I was just trying to protect my girl.'
'I was just trying to help my girlfriend,' Holley quoted Lanez in court. 'I was just trying to help my shortie.'
Stogner stated he didn't 'recall' seeing the body camera footage, Rolling Stone reported.
Holley also suggested Harris, at one point, may have had possession of the gun that shot Megan, stating investigators found gunshot residue on her hand.
Stogner, when questioned by Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta, testified gunshot residue can be transferred to someone's hands by being 'in the vicinity' of a shooting.
Lanez, who remained mostly quiet during Tuesday's hearing, has previously accused Megan of 'framing' him over the shooting and even addressed the shooting multiple times on his 2020 album Daystar, stating on the song Money Over Fallouts, 'Megan people trying to frame me for a shooting/But them boys ain’t clean enough.'
Last month, in an interview with GQ, Megan said being shot and then having to defend her experiences publicly online was 'the worst experience of [her] life.'
According to her account of the incident, Megan was simply trying to leave the party when she got in the car with Lanez, a move she was hesitant to even make as an argument was brewing and her phone had died.
Megan (pictured) initially lied about how she sustained her injuries, saying she feared Lanez would be shot by police if they knew he had a gun in the SUV. The detective's Tuesday testimony echoed this claim.
When Megan attempted to get out of the vehicle, Lanez allegedly shot at her feet and wounded her twice.
'Like, I never put my hands on nobody,' she said while recalling the scenario in disbelief. 'I barely even said anything to the man who shot me when I was walking away. We were literally like five minutes away from the house.'
She said he begged her not to report the incident, which only prompted more fear.
'[At this point] I'm really scared,' Megan told the magazine. 'Because this is like right in the middle of all the protesting. Police are just killing everybody for no reason, and I'm thinking, 'I can't believe you even think I want to take some money. Like, you just shot me.'
With helicopters surrounding the area and a slew of police presence, Megan told officers at the time 'I got cut.'
The rapper was accused of lying about the incident and later named Lanez as the person who shot her in the foot, which spiraled into a he-said/she-said war online.
After back and forth she tweeted: 'Black women are so unprotected & we hold so many things in to protect the feelings of others w/o considering our own.
'It might be funny to y'all on the internet and just another messy topic for you to talk about but this is my real life and I'm real life hurt and traumatized.'
Lanez was arrested in connection to the incident and charged. He posted a $190K bond and was ordered to stay away from Megan.
His lawyers, responding to TMZ last month about the buy-out allegations, said Lanez 'has never offered money to any witness for their silence or for any other reason. Any reports to the contrary are false.'
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