The shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, allegedly by Canadian rapper Tory Lanez, has been one of the more heated court cases to hit the rap game. With both artists boasting sizable, and decidedly loyal fanbases, the conclusion on Tory's innocence has been a mixed bag; while some believe that Megan mistakenly accused the wrong man, others appear convinced that Lanez was indeed the one who pulled the trigger.
With the court case still ongoing, Akademiks has taken it upon himself to do some independent sleuthing, securing himself a copy of some of the court documents written by Tory's defense team. Last night, Ak proceeded to share a breakdown of his findings live on Twitch. Remember -- Akademiks may have the court documents, but he is not a lawyer. Therefore, his fluency in legalese is open for interpretation.
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Off the bat, Ak clarifies that Megan is actually unable to drop charges in this case, as she is a witness. "Her cooperation of lack thereof has nothing to do with the case," he states. "Now could it help the case? Yes. But she can't make any determination as to how the outcome will be. In most cases that are domestic in nature, and even some assault cases, they make it so the state presses charges and not the person."
Ak explains that Tory's lawyers are arguing that the evidence presented in court thus far is basically hearsay, having been based entirely on the claims made by Megan Thee Stallion. The following point reveals that evidence was presented to Tory's team, including ballistic reports and eyewitness statements, the latter of which apparently "directly contradict the statements of Megan P. concerning the incident." Ak reasons that Megan's statement is the only driving force in the case, though he does acknowledge that these are the words presented by Tory's lawyers.
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The document also covers Tory's inability to speak on the evidence he may or may not have seen, an order the rapper has motioned to fight. The docs include an exhibit detailing the publications that have covered Megan's recent accusations, namely Billboard, People, ET, and Vulture, as well as a footnote confirming that Tory's team reached out in an attempt to correct the reports. They also address Megan's claim that Tory's team was responsible for sowing confusion in the media, arguing that the media confusion that arose (see the "charges dropped" narrative) ensued following "publically available information on the Los Angeles Supreme Court website."
Tory's team also claims that there is evidence that dispels Megan's definitive claims that "Tory shot her" and is "going to jail," citing "gunshot residue implicating others" as well as additional contradictory witness statements. Ak concludes that the documents are suggesting that "somebody else shot Megan," and confirms that Tory's team is seeking to adjust the rapper's "gag order" so that he can speak up in defense should his guilt be suggested on social media.
Should you be interested in drawing your own conclusions, check out Akademiks' breakdown of the recent court docs below.