Tory Lanez will not face witness tampering charges in his felony assault trial for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion.
Prosecutors attempted to file the motion on Monday, which makes it a crime to try to persuade a witness, based on an alleged $1 million bribe Lanez paid to Megan Thee Stallion and her former best friend Kelsey Harris.
According to Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta said the charges were “based on testimony by both the victim and Ms. [Kelsey] Harris” about “statements the defendant made in the car, offering them a million dollars” to remain silent about the July 2020 shooting.
The judge questioned why prosecutors waited so long to file charges, and the DA stated that she wasn’t sure how Harris would testify. They decided to file the lawsuit after Harris appeared to corroborate Megan’s claim during her testimony.
Lanez’s defense attorney, George Mgdsyan, objected, claiming that prosecutors had known about Harris’ testimony since September. The court eventually agreed and dismissed the charges of witness tampering.
“At this point, I believe it is unfair, so I would deny that motion,” the judge said.
Lanez was recently charged with a third time with reckless discharge of a firearm. He previously pleaded not guilty to assault with a firearm resulting in serious bodily harm and concealing a loaded, unregistered firearm in a public place.
On Monday, Megan’s former stylist Eric “EJ” Culberson testified about the party he attended at Kylie Jenner’s house prior to the shooting, claiming he didn’t see a firearm at any point during the alleged shooting.
Prosecutors have been looking for Megan’s former bodyguard Justin Edison, who was scheduled to testify on Friday. According to Megan’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, Edison has gone missing, and police are looking into his whereabouts.
“He appears to have vanished. “Law enforcement has been searching for him nonstop and has been unable to locate him,” Spiro said. “He was also going to have devastating evidence that proved Tory’s guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
