A Los Angeles judge on Thursday refused to release jailed rapper Tory Lanez on bail pending the outcome of his appeal of his conviction and 10-year prison sentence for the shooting death of his ex-lover, fellow hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion .
The Canadian-born singer, 31, handcuffed and wearing orange prison jumpsuits and a black skullcap, made a hushed comment as LA Supreme Court Justice David Herriford told him: “Your request for bail will be denied.”
The judge cited three reasons for denying Lanez’s bail request.
As he listed them, he said, “You have been convicted of a violent crime.
“You have a history of violating court orders….And you are not a U.S. citizen,” – putting the musician at greater risk of flight.
Tory Lanez had his bail application denied as he awaits a decision on his appeal on Thursday
The Canadian-born rapper – real name Daystar Peterson – was sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting his former lover and fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion in 2021.
The rapper – real name Daystar Peterson – is pictured with Meg Thee Stallion – real name Megan Pete – in 2020
The bail denial comes five weeks after Lanez – real name Daystar Peterson – was given a 10-year prison sentence following a jury’s unanimous verdict last December on three gun crimes stemming from the shooting of Megan in the feet during a drunken argument in 2020.
He had pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
Lanez’s attorneys have appealed — both the jury conviction and the 10-year prison sentence — to the California Court of Appeals.
And on Thursday, one of them – Crystal Morgan – urged the judge to release 31-year-old Lanez on bail until the appeal is resolved.
She argued that her client is now married to his girlfriend Raina Chassagne – mother of his six-year-old son Kai – both of whom are US citizens.
Morgan claimed that Lanez has “strong ties” to the LA community and that when he was released on bail before being convicted on weapons charges, he traveled abroad and still always showed up to his court hearings.
The attorney also told Judge Herriford that Lanez would surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor to ensure he did not flee.
‘Mr. Peterson is not a threat to society,” she added.
Prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Kathy Tar, opposed the bail plea, calling Lanez a “danger to the community” and a “significant flight risk.”
In her testimony at the trial last year, Megan, 27, told the jury that she and Lanez were leaving a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s house on July 12, 2020 when an argument broke out.
Megan posted a photo of her foot injury on Instagram after the shooting
She also questioned his claimed close ties to LA, saying: “His ties to the community are not particularly convincing.”
Judge Herriford agreed with prosecutors and rejected Lanez’s plea for bail.
During the trial, Megan, 28, tearfully told the jury that she and Lanez – with whom she had had a sexual relationship – had gone to a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s house on July 12, 2020 and were in his SUV in the Hollywood Hills with her best friend and assistant Kelsey Harris when an alcohol-fueled argument broke out.
Megan, whose real name is Megan Pete, asked the driver to stop the car and she got out. That’s when she said Lanez yelled “Dance b–ch” and fired a gun at her five times, injuring her feet so badly that she required surgery.
She testified in court that Lanez offered her and Harris a million dollars to keep quiet about the shooting and asked them not to report him because he was already “on probation.”
Megan also said that Lanez later apologized to her and said he was drunk at the time of the shooting.
Just before his sentencing last month, Lanez – whose lawyers had argued he suffered from alcoholism and mental trauma from the death of his mother when he was young – begged the judge not to send him to prison, delivering an emotional speech about his relationship with his victim Megan.
“We lost both our mothers,” he said. “We sat there and drank until we went numb….”
‘That night everyone was drunk, I said some very immature things… I was wrong. If I could turn back the clock, I would… My apologies.
In a statement after his conviction, Tory Lanez, 31, maintained his innocence and thanked his supporters
‘There have been misconceptions that I am a monster, that I have no remorse. But that’s just not true.
‘I take responsibility for everything I did that night. I ask you for the opportunity to be a better father and a better mentor.
“I ask that you judge me not just on this matter, but on the full scope of my life. I have a habit disorder: I want to be a better person.’
Lanez’s 10-year sentence includes six years for the first charge of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, plus a four-year extension to run consecutively to that charge because it caused Megan serious bodily harm.
The judge imposed a two-year prison sentence for discharging a firearm with gross negligence, but he suspended that sentence.
And on the third charge of having a loaded firearm in a vehicle, he sentenced Lanez to two years in prison, to run concurrently with the 10 years.
Judge Herriford – who ordered the musician to pay a $5,000 “restitution fine” – awarded him credit for 305 days already served during his eight months in prison since his conviction in December, including 40 days of house arrest.