LOS ANGELES — Rapper Tory Lanez was briefly jailed Tuesday after a judge said he had violated a protective order in a felony assault case in which he is charged with shooting rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the feet.
Lanez, 29, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was handcuffed in a Los Angeles courtroom and taken to jail. He posted bail and was released several hours later.
At the hearing, Superior Court Judge David Herriford found that Peterson had violated orders that he not contact or harass Megan and that he not discuss evidence with outside parties.
While Peterson didn’t directly contact Megan, Herriford said some of his tweets appeared to be clear messages to her, and he ordered Peterson not to mention her in any social media.
Peterson’s lawyer, Shawn Holley, said in court that he did not supply information to a Twitter user who posted in February that Peterson’s DNA was not found on the weapon in the case.
In her argument, Holley said the tweet, now deleted, was not entirely accurate. She said that an investigation showed there were four DNA contributors on the handgun, making it inconclusive whether Peterson’s DNA was found. She said his DNA was definitely not found to be on the gun’s magazine.
The prosecution had asked that Peterson’s bail be revoked entirely or increased to $5 million.
“We are pleased that the Court rejected those outrageous requests,” Holly said in an email after the hearing.
The judge instead increased bail from the $250,000 Peterson posted after his 2020 arrest to $350,000.
A September trial date was selected, and Peterson was told to return for a June hearing. He has pleaded not guilty.
Peterson, Megan and others were in an SUV in the Hollywood Hills after a party on July 12, 2020. Authorities allege he fired at her feet during an argument after she had gotten out.
After months of speculation and publicity surrounding the incident, Peterson was charged with felony assault in October 2020, and in December of last year a judge determined there was enough evidence for him to go to trial.
After his initial arrest, Peterson tweeted that “the truth will come to light.”
The Canadian rapper Tory Lanez has had a successful run of mixtapes and major-label records since his career began in 2009, with his last two albums reaching the top 10 on Billboard’s charts.
Megan Thee Stallion was already a major up-and-coming star at the time of the incident, and has thrived since. She won a Grammy for best new artist in 2021, and had No. 1 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 with her own song “Savage” featuring Beyoncé and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP.”
