Tory Lanez’s driver says Kelsey Harris might have caused Megan Thee Stallion shooting

A statement from Tory Lanez’s driver in the 2020 Megan Thee Stallion shooting case, which also involves her ex-best friend Kelsey Harris, is going viral following the California Attorney General’s Office blocking Lanez’s latest appeal attempt.

In the statement, released just before Lanez’s habeas petition in December 2023, it is claimed that the Toronto rapper, Daystar Peterson, wrestled the gun from Kelsey Harris, which then discharged and led to Megan Pete, the Houston rapper, being shot in the feet.

Tory Lanez’s driver, Jauquan Smith, witnessed the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. However, as reported by legal journalist Meghann Cunniff, Lanez’s legal team did not call Smith to testify during the 2022 trial, informing the judge that his testimony was unnecessary.

In his statement, Smith also alleged that the prosecution prevented him from testifying during the trial. Reflecting on the 2020 incident, Lanez’s driver described witnessing an altercation between Megan Thee Stallion and her former best friend, Kelsey Harris. Smith claimed that he saw Harris holding a gun, and that Lanez tried to wrestle it away from her. According to Smith, the gun discharged during the struggle, resulting in Megan Thee Stallion being shot.

According to Cunniff, Tory Lanez’s appellate attorneys submitted a petition in December, asserting that Smith's observations and potential statements were previously unknown. Following Lanez's attempt to present the statement as new evidence for his appeal, prosecutors produced transcripts revealing that Lanez’s trial lawyer, George Mgdesyan, had informed the court that Smith's testimony was unnecessary.

After revealing the previously undisclosed statements from Lanez’s trial lawyer, the California Attorney General’s Office now contends that Lanez and his legal team were aware of how his driver would testify but opted not to call him as a witness. As a result, the statement is considered not to meet the criteria for new evidence.

Tory Lanez will persist in his appeal efforts following his December 2022 conviction and subsequent 10-year sentence in August 2023. He was convicted of three felonies: assault with a semiautomatic firearm, possessing a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.