Tory Lanez has filed a motion for a new trial after he was found guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in July 2020.
The rapper’s lawyers Jose Baez and Matthew Barhoma yesterday (March 29) filed paperwork seen by Rolling Stone, in which they cite multiple grounds for retrial. Among the argument is a claim that the judge in the trial, which wrapped last December, barred a fair trial by “erroneously” allowing jurors to view a social media post.
The Instagram post in question was sent from Lanez’s personal account in September 2020 in which it was alleged that Thee Stalltion’s now-estranged best friend Kelsey Harris was not the shooter.
A declaration is included in the retrial motion from Lanez’s content creator, Joshua Farias, in which he claims that he was managing Lanez’s Instagram at that point and was the one who replied “that’s not true” to a comment on The Shade Room’s account stating: “People saying Kelsey shot her.”
Lanez’s lawyers allege that prosecutors surprised them with the Instagram post mid-trial and that the defence team didn’t have sufficient time to ascertain who wrote the reply.
Tory Lanez (Picture: Getty)
The rapper (real name Daystar Peterson) and his lawyers claim that the post amounted to an apparent admission by Peterson that Kelsey didn’t fire the gun. His whole defence, meanwhile, was that Kelsey fired the shots that wounded The Stallion (real name Megan Pete) – an allegation that Kelsey and Pete denied during trial testimony.
“The court erred on numerous questions of law in allowing the People to introduce this post, depriving defendant of a fair trial,” the new motion reads. “The only acceptable remedy for this miscarriage of justice is a new trial.”
In December, Peterson was convicted of all three charges against him and is facing up to 22-years in prison at sentencing.
At a hearing in early January, Peterson’s legal team at the time lobbied the judge to delay Peterson’s sentencing until April so that they could review trial transcripts and prepare a motion.
Megan Thee Stallion live at Reading – CREDIT: Getty
Elsewhere in the motion for a new trial, Peterson’s lawyers claim that prosecutors unfairly “painted defendant as a gun-wielding career criminal”.
The defence team allege that prosecutors “revealed their true motive” for introducing a shirtless photo of Peterson when they asked a witness if he had seen “the big gun that Tory has tattooed at the centre of his chest”.
Peterson’s lawyers argue that trial references to his tattoo and music “deprived” him of the “due process safeguards” in a new California law that seeks to exclude “creative expression” evidence that might lead to racial bias.
As Rolling Stone reports further, it’s expected that prosecutors will file a reply to the new motion ahead of a planned hearing on the matter that’s now booked for April 10. Peterson’s sentencing is currently scheduled for the same date.
Meanwhile, in January 50 Cent has issued an apology to Thee Stallion, admitting that he was wrong to share a meme accusing her of lying about being shot by Lanez.
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