Megan Thee Stallion Bodyguard Told Investigators Tory Lanez Apologized to Him for Shooting: Source

A bodyguard for Megan Thee Stallion who was due to testify at Tory Lanez’s felony assault trial — but who reportedly stopped responding to law enforcement this week — was expected to face questions over a prior statement he gave to authorities implicating Lanez, a source tells Rolling Stone.

The source says the bodyguard, Justin Edison, previously told law enforcement that Lanez walked up to him a day after the shooting that landed Megan in the hospital to say the violent incident was an alcohol-fueled accident.

Edison — who was not present when the gunfire erupted, but who received the panicked text from Megan’s former friend Kelsey Harris stating, “Help/Tory shot meg/911” — told authorities that Lanez apologized to him face-to-face during the meeting at a private residence, saying he was very drunk and was just shooting at the ground when Megan was accidentally struck, a source with knowledge of the situation says.

Edison and his lawyer did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s requests for comment. Attempts to reach Lanez’s defense lawyer as well as prosecutors on the felony case now in the middle of a jury trial in Los Angeles were not immediately successful.

Late on Friday, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott asked Judge David Herriford to release the “body attachment” (a type of warrant) for Edison, signaling prosecutors had given up on calling him to the stand.

Megan’s lawyer Alex Spiro released a statement Saturday saying Edison had vanished, but that the search for him was not over.

“We recently learned that Justin Edison went missing right before he was scheduled to appear in court. The L.A. District Attorney is currently looking into his disappearance and welcomes any information on his whereabouts,” Spiro told Rolling Stone.

An LAPD spokeswoman said Saturday she had no information about a missing person’s investigation related to Edison.

Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, is battling three felony charges in the high-profile case alleging he shot Megan in both feet during a drunken assault on a residential street in the Hollywood Hills before daybreak on July 12, 2020.

He has pleaded not guilty to assault with a firearm causing great bodily injury, concealing a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and the recently added count of discharging a firearm with gross negligence.

If convicted as charged, the Alone at Prom rapper is facing the possibility of 22 years and eight months in prison and subsequent deportation since he’s a citizen of Canada.

Megan, whose full name is Megan Pete, gave harrowing testimony on the witness stand Tuesday, saying the shooting left her with lasting physical and emotional injuries.

She recalled turning to see Peterson holding a gun and pointing it at her as he allegedly shouted “Dance Bitch” and the shots rang out.

Harris also took the witness stand for two days of tortured testimony during which she disavowed key elements of a detailed statement she gave to prosecutors in September. Harris confirmed she heard the gunshots, but recanted her September claim that she watched Peterson fire the semiautomatic 9mm handgun five times over the open door of his Cadillac Escalade.

When Peterson’s lawyer grilled her about her September statement under cross-examination, he asked if she was under the “impression” that if she told prosecutors what they “wanted to hear,” she could be “done with this case.”

Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said the question impugned the “integrity” of the D.A.’s office and asked the court to allow the entire recorded September interview to be played for the jury. The judge granted the request, and jurors heard the 88-minute audio interview on Friday.