Megan Thee Stallion's alleged shooter Tory Lanez pleads not guilty to assault charges
Lanez is accused of shooting the hip-hop sensation in the foot in July after an argument
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rapper Tory Lanez, who is accused of shooting and injuring fellow hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion in July, pleaded not guilty through his attorney Wednesday to felony assault charges.
The Toronto native’s lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley entered the plea on behalf of Lanez, born Daystar Peterson, in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom to counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle.
Lanez, who was rumored to have been dating Stallion -- real name Megan Pete -- was not present at the hearing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lanez was told to return for a hearing on Jan. 20 and an order keeping him from making any kind of contact with Megan Thee Stallion was extended.
MEGAN THEE STALLION SAYS RAPPER TORY LANEZ IS THE PERSON WHO SHOT HER
Lanez is accused of shooting fellow hip-hop star, Megan Thee Stallion, in the foot in July after an argument. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
In a criminal complaint, prosecutors said Lanez fired on a victim identified as “Megan P.” after she got out of an SUV during an argument in the Hollywood Hills on July 12, and “inflicted great bodily injury” on her.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MEGAN THEE STALLION'S ALLEGED SHOOTER TORY LANEZ CHARGED WITH ASSAULT
If convicted, Lanez faces a maximum sentence of roughly 23 years.
The Canadian rapper was charged in October after months of speculation and publicity surrounding the incident. At first, Los Angeles police reported the incident only as shots fired, a woman with foot injuries, and a man arrested on a weapons allegation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TORY LANEZ DENIES SHOOTING MEGAN THEE STALLION IN NEW 17-TRACK ALBUM
Megan Thee Stallion then revealed a few days later that her foot injuries came from gunshots, and more than a month later alleged in an Instagram video that it was Lanez who fired them. She slowly revealed more via social media in subsequent weeks.
“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,” she wrote at the time.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lanez tweeted 'the truth will come to the light,' and 'a charge is not a conviction' the day after he was charged. If convicted, the artist faces a maximum sentence of roughly 23 years. (Prince Williams/Wireimage, Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
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The day after he was charged, Lanez tweeted “the truth will come to the light,” and “a charge is not a conviction.”
Lanez's album “Daystar,” which was released in September after the shooting but before he was charged, reached the top 10 on the Billboard album chart, and he has had a successful run of mixtapes and major-label records since his career began in 2009.
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Megan Thee Stallion was already a major up-and-coming star at the time of the shooting, and since then, her guest stint on the Cardi B song “WAP” helped turn the track -- and music video -- into a huge cultural phenomenon, and she appeared on the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.