Megan Thee Stallion Taking pictures Trial Recap: Eyewitness Testifies – Billboard

Sean Kelly, an alleged eye witness to the 2020 incident during which Megan Thee Stallion was shot, supplied complicated and contradictory testimony Tuesday (Dec. 20) about what actually occurred, saying he by no means truly noticed a gun — but additionally that he noticed a person matching Tory Lanez’s description holding one, and that Megan’s former pal and assistant Kelsey Harris may have fired.

Throughout the seventh day of the blockbuster trial, Kelly (a key witness for Lanez’s protection staff) testified that when he first seemed outdoors his house on the night time of the incident, he noticed Megan and Harris kicking and punching one another outdoors of a automobile. “They have been pulling their hair and hitting one another. It was fairly violent,” he informed Lanez’s legal professional George Mgdesyan.

Shortly after a person matching the outline of Lanez’s driver Jaquan Smith bought out of the automobile and tried to separate them, Kelly says he heard a shot fired. He mentioned a person matching Lanez’s description then exited the automobile, resulting in a scuffle between all 4 folks — and that 4 or 5 extra pictures then rang out.

Lanez’s protection staff has recommended all through the trial that Harris, not Lanez, doubtlessly pulled the set off, partly primarily based on an earlier interview Kelly gave to them in Jan. 2021. In complicated testimony that repeatedly contradicted itself, Kelly didn’t provide a lot readability on that time. The alleged witness, who referred to as 911 however by no means recognized the shooters on that decision, first mentioned he “by no means noticed a gun” and “simply noticed flashes” and that he believed one of many ladies fired it — earlier than later showing to verify that he noticed Lanez (known as “the shorter man”) holding the weapon.

“Did you see the shorter man with a gun in his hand?” requested Mgdesyan.

“Sure,” answered Kelly.

Later in his testimony, Kelly mentioned he witnessed three of the folks beating one of many ladies on the street as she was curled in a ball, earlier than listening to the person matching Smith’s description say, “The cops are coming!” He then mentioned he noticed somebody within the group choose the lady up — at which level he believed the group was going to aim to throw her into a close-by creek. “It appeared to me they have been making an attempt to kill her. Dragged her throughout the road and picked her up,” he mentioned.

Kelly turned visibly agitated throughout cross-examination from the prosecution, when he as soon as once more testified that he noticed the person matching Lanez’s description taking pictures the gun, saying “the quick man was agitated; he bought out of the automobile. His arm was stretched out and he was firing in every single place. 4 or 5 pictures.” At this level, Lanez, sporting a white turtleneck beneath a white jacket, seemed on sternly, his eyes bulging as he listened to Kelly’s testimony.

Throughout the redirect with Mgdesyan, Kelly as soon as once more appeared to contradict his personal model of occasions, stating, “I imagine the woman [Harris] fired the primary shot.”

Kelly’s testimony got here greater than per week right into a closely-watched trial over the July 12, 2020 incident, throughout which prosecutors say Lanez yelled “Dance, b—-” and shot at Megan’s toes, putting her at the least as soon as. He’s charged with three felony counts — assault with a firearm, gun possession and discharging a firearm with gross negligence — and will face as a lot as 22 years in jail if convicted.

The primary week of the trial noticed gripping testimony from Megan herself, who recounted the alleged taking pictures, pinned the blame on Lanez, and mentioned, “I want he had simply shot and killed me.” Later within the week, Harris — anticipated to be a star witness for the prosecution — largely failed to re-affirm earlier statements pinning the blame on Lanez. However on Friday (Dec. 16), prosecutors performed recordings of these earlier statements, during which Harris clearly acknowledged that Lanez had shot the Grammy-winning rapper after which tried to purchase each ladies’s silence with million-dollar bribes.