According to Meghann Cuniff Los Angeles prosecutors say the evidence of rapper Tory Lanez’s guilt in the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion is “overwhelming” and his lawyers’ arguments that he deserves a new trial are baseless.
“The defendant’s brief is replete with colorful rhetoric and conclusory statements, but it lacks substance,” according to the 16-page opposition to Lanez’s motion for new trial. “Despite being nearly 80 pages long, the defendant has failed to cite a single instance of error in the trial court.”
Prosecutors say the evidence against Lanez includes “multiple eyewitnesses identifying him as the shooter, the gun used in the assault found at his feet, and recorded apologies for the shooting.”
Filed Thursday, the opposition emphasizes that Lanez’s trial lawyer didn’t object to the DNA evidence his new lawyers argue shouldn’t have been evidence in the trial. It calls the argument “perplexing” and another argument about Lanez’s change in counsel “inaccurate, misleading, and unethical.”
“As the court is aware, the right to a fair trial is a cornerstone of our justice system. However, a motion a new trial must be based on substantial legal grounds and supported by evidence. It is not a vehicle for a litigant to reargue their case or to make vague and unsupported allegations,” according to the filing, which is signed by Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David J. Herriford is scheduled to consider Lanez’s new trial request Monday at 10:30 a.m. Lanez was to be sentenced that day if Herriford rejects the motion, but the sentencing is now expected to be delayed to late April or early May.
Lanez has been in jail without bond since a jury on Dec. 23 convicted him of felony assault with a semi-automatic firearm, discharge of a firearm with gross negligence and having a concealed and unregistered firearm in a vehicle for firing five rounds at Megan in a residential area after they left a gathering at reality star Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home early on July 12, 2020. Jurors also determined he caused Megan great bodily harm.
