Tory Lanez's trial for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion starts in LA

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Rapper Tory Lanez told fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion to "dance" before he fired five times at her during an argument in the Hollywood Hills nearly 2 1/2 years ago, a prosecutor told jurors Monday, but the musician's attorney said jurors will have to determine who actually shot the gun.

Lanez - whose real name is Daystar Peterson - is charged with one count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, discharging a firearm with gross negligence and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, along with allegations that he personally used a firearm and inflicted great bodily injury.

In his opening statement, Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott told the downtown Los Angeles jury that Lanez told his fellow rapper, "Dance, bitch," as he shot five rounds at her shortly before 4:30 a.m. July 12, 2020.

The prosecutor said Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, had to undergo surgery after being shot in the feet following an argument in which the bikini-clad woman "insulted" Lanez's skills as a musical artist and demanded to be let out of the Cadillac Escalade in which the two were riding after leaving a pool party at Kylie Jenner's house. She left a trail of blood behind her before eventually getting back into the vehicle, which was subsequently stopped by Los Angeles police, Bott said.

Within about five minutes of the shooting, a female friend who was with Megan Thee Stallion texted one of the rapper's security guards, "Help," "Tory shot meg," and "911," the prosecutor said, and police subsequently found the gun still warm to the touch on the floorboard near where Lanez had been seated, according to the prosecutor.

Lanez and the rapper's female friend, who was nearby at the time of the shooting, both later tested positive for gunshot residue, the deputy district attorney said.

In a subsequent phone call, Lanez "profusely apologized for his actions" and claimed he was "just too drunk," Bott told jurors.

Jurors are set to hear from Megan Thee Stallion on Tuesday, the prosecutor said.

Lanez's attorney, George Mgdesyan, urged jurors to keep an open mind and said the panel is going to have to judge whether his client's accuser is "being truthful."

The defense attorney said it is his job to show them that "she's lying," and pledged that the defense would be presenting evidence during its portion of the trial. Mgdesyan said Megan Thee Stallion informed police that Lanez told her he was on probation and begged her not to say anything, but the attorney said his client was never convicted of any crimes for which he would have been on probation.

Mgdesyan said it was a "case about jealousy," telling jurors that the two women had gotten into an argument while in the SUV and that a neighbor reported witnessing a fistfight between the women after the vehicle stopped on Nichols Canyon Road.

The defense lawyer told jurors that his client subsequently apologized in a jailhouse phone call to the female rapper's friend for having a sexual relationship with both women and disclosing it, with no mention being made of the shooting.

He questioned why the other woman who had been in the vehicle would have had gunshot residue on her if she wasn't the person who fired the shots and said police failed to test the gun to check if her DNA could be found on the weapon.

Lanez's attorney said the most important thing for jurors to determine will be who got out of the vehicle, who was fighting and who fired the gun.

He said he expected jurors to acquit his client after they hear the entire case.

Lanez, 30, remains out of custody on a $350,000 bond and walked into the courtroom while holding hands with his young son. The rapper had been under house arrest and under electronic monitoring while awaiting trial, but those restrictions were lifted last week by Superior Court Judge David Herriford.

At a hearing last year in which Lanez was ordered to stand trial, Los Angeles Police Department Detective Ryan Stogner testified that no one other than Megan Thee Stallion heard the alleged remark, "Dance, bitch."

She initially told officers and doctors she had not been shot and that broken glass had caused the injuries to her feet, according to the detective.

She told the detective she was "extremely scared and embarrassed," was "scared he was going to get in trouble" and was concerned the police might shoot him, but was "sincere," "visibly distraught" and "crying" when she subsequently admitted Lanez had shot her, Stogner testified.

In a video posted on Instagram Live following the shooting, Megan Thee Stallion said, "Tory shot me. You shot me and you got your publicist and your people are lying ... Stop lying."

She said police officers drove her to a hospital, where she underwent surgery, and added she was "incredibly grateful to be alive."

In an op-ed published in The New York Times, she wrote that she was "recently the victim of an act of violence by a man" and that she was initially silent about what had happened "out of fear for myself and my friends."

"Even as a victim, I have been met with skepticism and judgment," she wrote. "The way people have publicly questioned and debated whether I played a role in my own violent assault proves that my fears about discussing what happened were, unfortunately, warranted."

The rapper gained fame in part through freestyling videos shared widely on Instagram. Her song "Savage" went viral on TikTok and topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 2020, while her provocative collaboration with Cardi B on "WAP" garnered her more attention.

In a posting last year on Twitter, Lanez wrote, "I have all faith in God to show that ... love to all my fans and people that have stayed true to me & know my heart ... a charge is not a conviction."