A judge has rejected a request to submit new evidence filed by attorneys of incarcerated rapper Tory Lanez after his driver, Jauquan Smith claimed he saw Megan Thee Stallion‘s former friend Kelsey Harris holding a gun on the night of the 2020 shooting and that Lanez was trying to disarm Kelsey.
The California Attorney General’s Office ruled not to accept it and argued that this would not qualify as new evidence because it would “not directly contradict [Megan] Pete’s testimony that petitioner [Lanez] was the person who shot her.”
Jauquan Smith claimed Tory Lanez, Megan Thee Stallion and Kelsey Harris were arguing in the vehicle.
He added that he saw Harris holding the gun that shot Megan at one point and recalls seeing Lanez attempt to disarm the woman. “I pulled over to stop them.”
Smith continued. “Ms. Pete and Ms. Harris both got out of the vehicle and continued to fight, both verbally and physically.”
Smith says that Lanez attempted to diffuse the situation, rather than escalate it. “Mr. Peterson and Ms. Harris began struggling as Mr. Peterson tried to unarm Ms. Harris,” Smith wrote.
The decision is a huge blow to Lanez’s legal team who were hoping the evidence would at least get Lanez a second trial or have the case thrown own altogether.