Canadian rapper Tory Lanez was convicted of felony assault in December 2022 stemming from his shooting of Megan Thee Stallion back in 2020. Lanez hasn’t given up hope of fighting his case, however. As his sentencing date approaches in late January, Lanez has hired the help of a new lawyer for his appeal case. The lawyer has had many famous clients before, including hit-making rapper Snoop Dogg in his infamous 1990s murder case.

 

Megan Thee Stallion first came forward alleging Tory Lanez shot her in the foot in the summer of 2020. Lanez’s trial was set for December 2022 in Los Angeles.

On December 23, 2022, Lanez was convicted in a jury trial on three felony charges related to the shooting: assault with a semiautomatic handgun, having a loaded and unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and gross negligence in discharging a firearm.

Lanez was taken to jail following the conviction, with his sentencing hearing scheduled for January 27, 2023.

 

During the trial, Lanez relied on defense attorney George Mgdesyan to help him with the case. As Lanez now prepares to appeal his conviction, he hired longtime lawyer David Kenner. “I don’t do appeals, so we had to get somebody on board to handle the appeal,” Mgdesyan explained to Rolling Stone of the move.

 

Kenner has represented Suge Knight in court, and there’s another connection to Death Row Records that he’s represented in court: rapper and business mogul Snoop Dogg.

 

“Kenner’s biggest claim to fame appears to be getting Snoop Dogg acquitted of murder a.k.a. ‘murder was the case that they gave me,’” Law & Crime reporter Meghan Cuniff, who covered the trial, wrote on Twitter. “He told me he has a video of Snoop at his 80th birthday party saying, ‘Without David Kenner, there’d be no Snoop Dogg.’”

 

In 1993, Snoop Dogg was charged in relation to the death of a rival gang member, facing counts of first- and second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, conspiracy to commit assault, and being an accessory after the fact. He went to trial and was acquitted after six days of deliberations in 1996.

 

Snoop addressed the charges on his 1993 song “Murder Was the Case,” as well as the short film and soundtrack of the same name released the following year.

“They made the right decision,” Snoop told reporters as he left the courthouse, according to the Los Angeles Times. “This has been an ordeal that has affected our lives for the past two-and-a-half years. I was just trying to figure out if I was going to be here to raise my son.”