Tory Lanez‘s new prison home has a history of violent and deadly incidents — and its reputation has left his fans concerned about his wellbeing.
The Canadian rapper was transferred North Kern State Prison in Delano, California earlier this week to begin serving his 10-year sentence for the July 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.
The medium-security prison is located roughly 145 miles north of Los Angeles and houses 4,000 inmates. It serves as reception center for new inmates in the California state prison, meaning Lanez will likely only be there for a few months before being transferred to a permanent location.
As TMZ has pointed out, the prison has made headlines in recent months for a series of violent crimes, including murder.
In February, 51-year-old Ramon Escobar reportedly strangled his cellmate, Juan Villanueva, to death and was later charged with first-degree murder.
Escobar was already serving multiple life sentences for prior murder convictions, while Villanueva, 53, was behind bars for aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14.
Then in July, 25-year-old Ricardo Saldivar was found dead in his cell. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are investigating his death as a homicide.
There has also been a string of violent incidents between inmates and correctional officers. Just this week, a former inmate and convicted sex offender was found guilty of attacking two guards during a drug search in July 2020.
Back in 2015, a guard walking a yard was shot, with the bullets penetrating his stab-proof vest. He was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Authorities believe the shots came from outside the prison walls.
The Daily Mail reports that racial and gang tension is also rife within the prison, with the two prominent gangs being the Sureños and Paisas, which are both Mexican.
News of these incidents sparked concern among Tory Lanez’s fanbase, with many of his supporters flocking to social media to express their worry.
“Damn prayers up for Tory,” one person wrote on Twitter, while another said: “Damn they tryna kill my boy here.”
“He better sleep with one eye open,” someone else cautioned, followed by another concerned tweet that read: “That boy gone have to pay up that money for protection.”
Tory Lanez (real name Daystar Peterson) was found guilty on all counts in December 2022, with a jury agreeing with the theory that he fired multiple shots at Megan Thee Stallion’s feet during a drunken dispute two and a half years earlier.
He was later sentenced to 10 years in prison in August, but close to a year has been shaved off the sentence due to time served.
Tory has long maintained his innocence, writing in a statement following his sentencing that he “refuse[s] to apologize for something that I did not do.”
“I have never let a hard time intimidate me,” his defiant message read. “I will never never let no jail time eliminate me. Regardless of how they try to spin my words, I have always maintained my innocence and I always will.”
He added: “I’ve faced adversity my whole life and every time it looked like I would lose, I came out on top. This is nothing but another moment where my back is against the wall and I refuse to stop fighting till I come out victorious. Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”
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