Tory Lanez’s sentencing in Megan Thee Stallion shooting pushed to Tuesday

(LOS ANGELES) — Rapper Tory Lanez appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom Monday, where he was set be sentenced for shooting and injuring hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion in July 2020. But after the hourslong court proceedings, the sentencing was postponed.

Lanez and his attorneys are due back in court at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Lanez, 31, who was convicted on Dec. 23, 2022 for shooting and injuring the hip-hop star, whose legal name is Megan Pete, was initially set to be sentenced in January but the sentencing has been delayed several times after Lanez obtained new attorneys and filed a motion for a new trial. The request for a new trial was denied in May.

Lanez, a Grammy-nominated rapper whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was convicted on Dec. 23, 2022 and is facing up to 22 years and 8 months in prison.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office, which is prosecuting this case, filed a motion in May asking the judge to give the rapper a 13-year sentence. Prosecutors also filed a motion on May 23, arguing for a harsher sentence for the rapper. According to the motion, a new California law would by default make the rapper’s sentence come in the “middle term” of the potential 22-year sentence, unless “circumstances in aggravation” were proven.

Prosecutors argued in the filing, obtained by ABC News, that “circumstances of aggravation” are present in this case and cited Lanez’s “callousness.”

Lanez’s attorneys, Jose Baez and Matthew Barhoma, did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.

Lanez was found guilty of three charges for shooting and injuring Megan in both of her feet in an incident in the Hollywood Hills on July 12, 2020.

The sentencing came after Superior Court of Los Angeles Judge David Herriford last month denied Lanez’s request for a new trial.

Lanez was initially charged in October 2020 with one felony count each of assault with a semi-automatic firearm (personal use of a firearm) and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, according to charging documents obtained by ABC News. “Personal use of a firearm” is not a separate charge but is a sentencing enhancement linked to the first count that could increase the length of Lanez’s sentence. Lanez was also charged ahead of his trial with an additional felony count of discharging a firearm with gross negligence.

Lanez, who chose not to take the witness stand during the trial, pleaded not guilty to all three charges. His defense attorneys argued during the trial that Lanez was not the shooter.

His previous attorney, George Mgdesyan, who represented him at trial, told ABC News then that Lanez was “disappointed” by the verdict. Asked on Dec. 23, 2022 whether he plans to appeal, Mgdesyan said that “everything is on the table.”

This case has sparked intense debates over society’s treatment of women. Pete’s account of the incident — and the intense public vitriol she faced after sharing her story — has spotlighted the Protect Black Women movement, which addresses the two-front battle of sexism and racism Black women experience in their own communities and in society at large.

Following the trial, Pete — who testified during the trial and named Lanez as her shooter — broke her silence about the shooting in an interview for her May 2023 Elle magazine cover story.

“I don’t want to call myself a victim,” she said. “As I reflect on the past three years, I view myself as a survivor, because I have truly survived the unimaginable. Not only did I survive being shot by someone I trusted and considered a close friend, but I overcame the public humiliation of having my name and reputation dragged through the mud by that individual for the entire world to see.”

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