Tory Lanez opted against testifying in his highly publicized shooting trial on Wednesday (December 21).
According to multiple reporters, the prosecution and the defense rested their cases after Tory Lanez informed the judge he wouldn’t testify. The defense didn’t call the Canadian rapper/singer’s driver Jaquan Smith to the stand even though he was on the defense’s witness list.
Prosecutors asked for a continuance if Smith testified, which would’ve pushed the trial past the Christmas break. Defense attorney George Mgdesyan declined to call Smith due to the proposed delay, which Tory Lanez wanted to avoid.
Closing arguments in the shooting trial began on Wednesday afternoon. Jurors will head behind closed doors to deliberate all of the evidence in the case.
Prosecutors accuse Tory Lanez of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in July 2020. He was charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
The 30-year-old artist pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he faces up to 22 years and eight months in prison.
A judge denied the prosecution’s attempt to add witness tampering charges against Tory Lanez. Megan Thee Stallion’s lawyer Alex Spiro claimed multiple witnesses were “compromised” in an interview with TMZ on Monday (December 19).