California prosecutors after Tory Lanez turned in testimony from his driver, Jauquan Smith, a witness in the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion Challenge to Tory Lanez’s request for a new trial. Smith claimed prosecutors would not allow him to testify at Lanez’s 2022 trial.
Smith said he saw Megan’s former friend Kelsey Harris holding a gun while the two were arguing. The driver admitted he didn’t see who shot Megan but claimed Lanez tried to disarm Harris.
“Multiple Sclerosis. Pete [Megan] “Ms. Harris started fighting,” Smith explained. “I pulled over to stop them. Ms. Pitt and Ms. Harris both got out of the car and continued to engage in a verbal and physical altercation. I broke up the altercation and pulled Ms. Pitt toward the back of the car. I saw Harris The lady has a gun in her hand. [Lanez] Running from behind Ms. Pitt and me toward Ms. Harris. When Mr. Peterson attempted to disarm Ms. Harris, Mr. Peterson and Ms. Harris began to struggle. I was still holding on to Ms. Pitt and didn’t see who fired the shot. I was not harmed, and in my opinion, Ms. Pitt was lucky, too. The whole incident happened so fast.
Smith added, “I wanted to present this evidence during Mr. Peterson’s trial, but was prevented from doing so because the district attorney was not ready to cross-examine me, and then due to holidays and court schedules, they did not call me back.” I believe I should be allowed to present this evidence at trial.
Lanez, who was found guilty of shooting Megan, cited Smith’s affidavit as evidence in his request for a new trial. Prosecutors disputed Lanez’s arguments and pointed to his former attorney’s refusal to subpoena Smith to testify. The California Attorney General’s Office maintains that Smith’s claims are not previously unknown evidence.
“Given these circumstances, defense counsel acknowledges that Smith would not be a useful witness because of his bias and the cumulative nature of the testimony he would provide,” Deputy Attorney General Michael C. Keller wrote. “Defense counsel recognized that an independent witness handed the gun to Harris before the shooting and therefore explained that having appellant’s friend say the same thing would not ‘do anything’.”
Lanez was convicted in 2022 of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm and negligent discharge of a firearm at a victim.
