Current:Home > ContactTory Lanez begins 10-year prison sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion -FundTrack
Tory Lanez begins 10-year prison sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion
View
Date:2025-04-15 11:20:02
Tory Lanez, who was convicted of shooting rapper Megan Thee Stallion, has arrived to a California state prison for his decade-long sentence.
The 31-year-old rapper had intake at North Kern State Prison in Delano, California, on Tuesday, inmate records viewed by USA TODAY show. The prison is 145 miles north of Los Angeles.
Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, will serve his sentence after a motion for bail was denied.
His mug shot was released the same day his prison sentence began.
Judge David Herriford denied the bail motion at a Sept. 14 hearing in Los Angeles, Unite the People CEO and co-founder Ceasar McDowell confirmed to USA TODAY. The criminal justice nonprofit is representing Lanez as he appeals the verdict in his case.
In a new motion filed that same week by Unite the People attorney Crystal Morgan, Lanez's lawyers requested for Herriford to halt his prison sentence during the appeal process and allow him to live in the Los Angeles area with his wife and 6-year-old son.
Herriford cited the violent nature of Peterson's conviction, his past violations of court orders and his deportation risk as a noncitizen (the rapper is from Canada) in the motion's denial, Morgan told USA TODAY in an email on Sept. 15.
In a statement, Morgan said Lanez's legal team "remains steadfast in our commitment to fighting for our clients' rights" and may file a similar motion for bail in the appellate court.
"Mr. Peterson's case has been a challenging one from the beginning. Despite the hurdles we have faced, we firmly believe in his innocence and will continue to advocate for his right to a fair trial and the opportunity to appeal his case," Morgan said. "The denial of the appeal bond is undoubtedly disappointing, but it does not deter us from our mission."
In December, Lanez was found guilty of three felonies – assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence – for leaving Megan wounded with bullet fragments in her feet.
Lanez’s sentence was handed down last month after several delays. Lanez was given about 10 months of credit for time he's served since his conviction.
The verdict brought an end to a dramatic trial that created a cultural firestorm in the hip-hop community, churning up issues including the reluctance of Black victims to speak to police, gender politics in hip-hop, online toxicity, protecting Black women and the ramifications of misogynoir, a particular brand of misogyny Black women experience.
In an Instagram post shared two days after his sentencing, Lanez addressed his fanbase and said he "will never let no jail time eliminate me."
"Regardless of how they try to spin my words, I have always maintained my innocence and I always will," Lanez wrote. "This week in court I took responsibility for all verbal and intimate moments that I shared with the parties involved. … That's it. In no way shape or form was I apologizing for the charges I'm being wrongfully convicted of. I remain on the stance that I refuse to apologize for something that I did not do."
Lanez added that he's "faced adversity my whole life, and every time it looked like I would lose, I came out on top."
Contributing: Edward Segarra and KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
veryGood! (22)
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Bulgaria arrests 12 people for violating EU sanctions on exports to Russia
- Biden remains committed to two-state solution amid Israel-Hamas war, national security spokesman says
- X promises ‘highest level’ response on posts about Israel-Hamas war. Misinformation still flourishes
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Carey Mulligan Confirms She and Husband Marcus Mumford Privately Welcomed Baby No. 3
- Jury deliberates in first trial in Elijah McClain's death
- Ryan Reynolds Reflects on “Fun” Outing to Travis Kelce’s NFL Game With Taylor Swift and Blake Lively
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Rome buses recount story of a Jewish boy who rode a tram to avoid deportation by Nazis. He’s now 92
Ranking
- Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
- Justin Jefferson hamstring injury: Vikings taking cautious approach with star receiver
- Judge makes ruling on who can claim historic shipwreck — and its valuable treasures — off Florida coast
- ESPN NHL analyst Barry Melrose has Parkinson's disease, retiring from network
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- NATO equips peacekeeping force in Kosovo with heavier armament to have “combat power”
- From Candy Corn to Kit Kats: The most popular (and hated) Halloween candy by state
- Black man was not a threat to Tacoma police charged in his restraint death, eyewitness says at trial
Recommendation
Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
Judge makes ruling on who can claim historic shipwreck — and its valuable treasures — off Florida coast
Khloe Kardashian Proves Babies Tatum and True Thompson Are Growing Up Fast in Sweet Sibling Photo
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer makes his pitch to UK voters with a speech vowing national renewal
Bodycam footage shows high
Kendall Jenner Shares How She's Overcome Challenges and Mistakes Amid Shift in Her Career
Texas prepares for inmate’s execution in hopes that Supreme Court allows it to happen
The 'Margaritaville' snail: meet the new species named after a Jimmy Buffett song