Tory Lanez lost his latest bid for freedom Thursday when the California Court of Appeal rejected his motion to be released on bond while he appeals his conviction for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.
The musician, born Daystar Peterson, previously petitioned his trial court judge for release following his conviction last December but was denied, setting the stage for his follow-up request and refusal in the state appellate court’s 2nd District.
In his latest failed bail motion, Lanez and his lawyers argued he “is not likely to flee and does not pose a danger to the safety of any other person or to the community.”
“He merely wishes to support his family and earn a living as is permissible pending the outcome of his appeal,” his motion filed Oct. 5 and obtained by Rolling Stone reads.
In her written ruling, Justice Lee Smalley Edmon, presiding judge of the 2nd District, noted that Peterson is a Canadian citizen and that he had his bail increased or modified multiple times during his prosecution, suggesting “there were concerns about appellant being a potential flight risk.”
She further noted that new legislation cited in Peterson’s motion was not yet signed into law, so it didn’t apply. The legislation relates to enhancements on felonies.
“Appellant currently stands convicted of a violent felony, which is a factor a court shall consider in determining whether the defendant poses a danger to the community,” Judge Edmon wrote. “Based on this record, appellant has not shown that the trial court unjustifiably denied relief or otherwise shown by clear and convincing evidence entitlement to relief.”
Peterson, 31, is now serving a 10-year sentence in the shooting case at North Kern State Prison. It was last December that a jury found him guilty of shooting music superstar Megan Thee Stallion in both feet during an alcohol-fueled confrontation on July 12, 2020.
The rapper tried to blame the shooting on Megan’s friend and assistant, Kelsey Harris, but the jury wasn’t swayed. Megan gave three hours of harrowing testimony during trial about the terrifying shooting and the harassment she faced from Peterson and his fans in the aftermath.
The two-week trial included head-spinning testimony from Harris, who was present in the SUV the morning of the shooting and who gave an 80-minute recorded statement to prosecutors in September 2022 in which she vividly recalled Peterson firing five shots, leaving Megan wounded on the ground.
After seven hours of deliberations, the Los Angeles jury convicted Peterson on all three counts, finding that he assaulted Megan with a semi-automatic firearm, causing great bodily injury, discharged the weapon with gross negligence and possessed the concealed, unregistered weapon inside his SUV.