As the Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez trial approaches opening statements, the Canadian singer has been hit with an additional felony count to go with the other charges against him.
According to Rolling Stone, Lanez faces a third felony charge in the case where Megan accuses him of shooting her in the foot in 2020. Opening statements are expected to take place next week.
On Monday, prosecutors added the new charge of discharging a firearm with gross negligence as jury selection has already started for the trial. The recording artist was initially charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. He entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.
If found guilty of all charges, Lanez faces deportation as a Canadian resident and a maximum sentence of 22 years and eight months.
AllHipHop has reported that the 30-year-old had been placed on house arrest since October but was released earlier this week in preparation for the trial.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Herriford elaborated on the reason for doing so.
“I will terminate the house arrest at this point. The main reason is that during trial, it’s difficult to have a client who’s not accessible. I’m doing this mainly for the trial preparation aspect.”
Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, is accused of pointing a 9mm gun at the feet of Megan and allegedly shouting, “Dance, bitch!” before shooting at her on the morning of July 12, 2020.
The pair, along with Megan’s best friend, Kelsey Harris, and Lanez’s bodyguard,
was riding in a Cadillac Escalade on the night of the incident. While in the vehicle, an argument ensued and Megan stepped out of the car in Hollywood Hills, based on testimony at a preliminary hearing last year.A Los Angeles detective, Ryan Stogner, testified that Megan initially lied and told police officers that she stepped on some glass, fearing what the police would do to Lanez if she said he had shot her, but later changed her story.
“She said that at the time, she was extremely scared and embarrassed, and due to the fact that she was friends with the defendant, she was scared that he was going to get in trouble, and she also expressed some concerns regarding the political climate regarding police and shootings,” Stogner testified. “She was afraid that there had been recent police shootings, and she described her concern about the police possibly shooting the defendant since he had just committed a shooting.”
Stogner confirmed that doctors from Cedars-Sinai Hospital found bullet fragments in both of Megan’s feet.