Yahoo Movies Tory Lanez Released from House Arrest to Prepare for Megan Thee Stallion Trial: Report
Jerod Harris/Getty, Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Tory Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion
Tory Lanez has been released from house arrest to prepare for trial in his felony assault case over allegations that he shot Megan Thee Stallion in 2020.
On Monday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Herriford ruled he would terminate in the house arrest to make Lanez accessible for trial preparation, according to Rolling Stone.
Per the outlet, the judge also ruled his $350,000 bond in the case would stand.
During the hearing, Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta fought back and argued that Lanez — whose real name is Daystar Peterson — had allegedly tried to intimidate and bribe witnesses in the case and asked for him to keep his ankle monitor on.
In response, defense lawyer George G. Mgdesyan told the court that Lanez, 30, never attempted to intimidate anyone — despite previous claims that he apologized, offered her money and begged her to stay quiet after the alleged incident, per Rolling Stone.
"If he's required to have a monitor on his ankle in front of jurors, I think it's just punitive. It doesn't serve any purpose. If he's going to dissuade a witness, all probation is going to know is where he is. It doesn't mean he can't meet with that person," he said, according to the outlet.
Opening statements are currently set to begin on Dec. 12 and Megan, 27, is expected to testify, according to the outlet.
The "Say It" performer was ordered under house arrest and electronic monitoring in October.
At the time, Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott argued that Lanez posed a danger to society and previously defied court orders not to come within 100 yards of the "Sweetest Pie" rapper. (Lanez was previously arrested in April for violating court orders by addressing Megan directly on social media and disclosing DNA evidence via a third-party Twitter user.)
In October 2020, Lanez was charged with one felony count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, personal use of a firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. He pleaded not guilty to both charges in November 2020.
LAPD Det. Ryan Stogner testified in December 2021 that Lanez shouted "Dance, bitch!" before shooting Megan in the foot, several outlets, including Rolling Stone and TMZ, reported.
"[Megan] observed Mr. Peterson holding a firearm and then she observed him start to shoot," Stogner testified at the time, per Rolling Stone. "Megan immediately felt pain in 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."
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In January 2021, Megan named Lanez as an "abuser" in a set of tweets about the incident, expressing frustration with the fact that the court of public opinion appeared to place some of the blame for the incident upon her.
"Bitch you shot me AND MY STORY NOT CHANGING AND BITCH YOU GOING TO JAIL," she added.
About a month after the incident, Megan named Lanez as the person who she claims shot her.
"You shot me, and you got your publicist and your people going to these blogs lying and s—. Stop lying," she wrote on Twitter, as captured by a fan's account on Twitter. "Why lie? I don't understand. I tried to keep the situation off the internet, but you're dragging it."
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
