(NewsNation) — Convicted rapper Tory Lanez’s team claims Nest camera footage exonerates him in the shooting of performer Megan Thee Stallion.
Lanez, born Daystar Peterson, was sentenced to 10 years behind bars in 2022. Lanez was convicted after testimony from Megan Thee Stallion, her friend Kelsey Harris and DNA evidence that prosecutors said linked him to the weapon.
According to documents reviewed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., Harris’ bodyguard, Bradley James, came forward stating that Harris confessed to being the one who fired the gun that night in the air three times. Lanez then pushed her hand down to deescalate the situation, causing two more gunshots to go off.
Lanez’s team claims the camera footage released corroborates the bodyguard’s testimony.
The guard claims he overheard Harris saying to her boyfriend, “How can I not tell on myself?” and “How am I protected if I tell certain things?”
Monday night, Luna told NewsNation that the footage “actually disproves the whole ‘Dance, Megan’” scenario described in court testimony, where Lanez allegedly told Megan to dance before shooting at her feet.
At a press conference last week, attorney Walter Roberts said Harris’ bodyguard overheard her confessing to the shooting.
“[Harris] fired at [Megan] three times. Mr. Peterson grabbed her arm and knocked it down, and the gun fired two more times. In essence, Mr. Peterson never shot anybody. Never even touched them. He never fired the gun. This statement aligns with the statement of the only non-party witness to the case, Mr. Sean Kelly, who at trial testified he saw two women fighting,” Roberts said, FOXLA reported
“There were three potential suspects in the car that night. And yet the only DNA sample was taken of Mr. Peterson, even though unknown DNA was found on the gun,” he said.
Luna said she has reached out to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office requesting an “emergency meeting” and is working with Democratic colleagues from California on the issue.
Luna specifically cited DNA evidence that she says undermines the case.
“They actually found four people’s DNA on that firearm, none of which was Tory’s. Not to mention there was zero fingerprints on the actual magazine,” she said.
“Tory Lanez was tried and convicted by a jury of his peers, and his case was properly adjudicated through the court system. This is not a political matter — this is a case of a violent assault that was resolved in the court of law,” Megan Thee Stallion’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said in a statement to XXL Magazine.
The congresswoman said she spoke with Lanez, who was recently stabbed 14 times while incarcerated. According to Luna, Lanez plans to work on prison reform once released.
The shooting occurred in July 2020 after a party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home. In December 2022, Lanez was convicted of three felonies: assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Megan, whose legal name is Megan Pete, testified during the trial that in July 2020, after they left a party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home, Lanez fired the gun at the back of her feet and shouted for her to dance as she walked away from an SUV in which they had been riding.
She had bullet fragments in both feet that had to be surgically removed. It wasn’t until months after the incident that she publicly identified Lanez as the person who had fired the gun.
Luna said her involvement in the case began after being approached by model and television personality Amber Rose.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.