Defense attorney on what prosecutors have to prove in Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' trial
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Diddy Was Just Convicted of 2 Sex Crimes: How Much Time Will He Spend in Prison?
Sean "Diddy" Combs was found guilty of prostitution charges and acquitted on the most serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking Thirty four witnesses testified during the weeks-long trial, including his ex-girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura Combs was accused of coercing women to participate in drug-fueled "freak off" parties and running a criminal enterprise over two decadesA Manhattan jury reached a verdict on Wednesday, July 2 finding that Sean "Diddy" Combs was guilty of prostitution charges. The music mogul was acquitted of the most serious charges - sex trafficking and racketeering - after a seven-week trial. Combs was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and legal commentator, says Combs may not be given a lengthy sentence. 'He is likely going to get little to no time," he tells PEOPLE. "He may even get time served and prostitution has a 10 year maximum. But the fact that he was acquitted of the most serious counts, The government would not have brought this case had they thought they could only get prostitution.' "[This was] a huge overwhelming win by the defense and a tremendous loss for the prosecution," says Rahmani. "There is no other way to spin it. This is the most expensive prostitution trial in American history." Rahmani says Combs will most likely stay in jail pending a pre-sentence report and a report from U.S. probation but he expects the rapper's attorneys to ask for a bond to have him released immediately. "The judge may actually grant bond because he's been acquitted of the most serious counts," says Rahmani. "So I would expect them to make a renewed motion for bond. But even if that motion is denied, he's going to be out soon." Thirty-four witnesses testified during the weeks-long trial, including Combs' ex-girlfriend Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Combs coerced Ventura and another woman who testified under the pseudonym "Jane," to take part in drug-fueled marathon sex sessions called "freak off" parties or 'hotel nights" that sometimes lasted for days. Combs was also accused of running a criminal enterprise over two decades — with help from his staff and inner circle — that committed crimes including arson, bribery and kidnapping. Combs, she said, enlisted his 'close inner circle and a small army of personal staff, who made it their mission to meet the defendant's every desire, promote his power and protect his reputation at all costs,' according to the AP. His defense attorney argued that Combs, who did not testify, was innocent of all charges against him. 'Return him to his family, who have been waiting for him,' Marc Agnifilo said, per AP. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. During the trial, the jury was also shown the infamous video of Combs chasing, beating and kicking Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel lobby in 2016. She alleged the attack took place when she was trying to leave a Freak Off session. The seven-week trial had plenty of dramatic moments outside the explosive testimony. At one point, a woman yelled several profanities before Judge Arun Subramanian ordered her removed from the courtroom. "These motherf—ers are laughing at you," the woman yelled at Combs. She then said, "you're laughing at a black man's legacy" and "pull your gun out ninja, I dare you." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
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Military veteran gets a life sentence for plotting an FBI attack after his Jan. 6 arrest
WASHINGTON (AP) — A military veteran was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for plotting to attack an FBI office and assassinate law enforcement officers in retaliation for his arrest on charges that he was part of the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, court records show. Edward Kelley was one of the first rioters to breach the Capitol. Nearly two years later, Kelley made plans with another man to attack the FBI office in Knoxville, Tennessee, using improvised explosive devices attached to vehicles and drones, according to prosecutors. Last November, a jury convicted Kelley of conspiring to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence and influencing federal officials by threat. Kelley, 36, received a pardon from President Donald Trump for his Jan. 6 convictions, but a judge agreed with prosecutors that Trump's action did not extend to Kelley's Tennessee case. That makes Kelley, who is from Maryvale, Tennessee, one of only a few Capitol riot defendants remaining in prison after the Republican president's sweeping act of clemency. U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan handed down Kelley's life sentence during a hearing in Knoxville, according to court records. The judge denied a request for Kelley to be released pending the outcome of an appeal. Prosecutors had recommended a life sentence for Kelley, saying he was remorseless and incapable of rehabilitation. 'On the contrary, Kelley not only believes the actions for which he was convicted were justified but that his duty as a self-styled 'patriot' compelled him to target East Tennessee law enforcement for assassination,' they wrote. Kelley served in the Marine Corps for eight years. He was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan before his 2015 discharge from the military. On Jan. 6, 2021, Kelley was captured on video helping two other rioters throw a Capitol Police officer onto the ground and using a piece of wood to damage a window, according to the FBI. He was the fourth person to enter the Capitol through a broken window, the FBI said. After a trial without a jury, a federal judge in Washington convicted Kelley last November of 11 counts stemming from the riot. Before Kelley could be sentenced, Trump pardoned him and hundreds of other convicted Capitol rioters. Kelley argued that his pardon was broad enough to cover his conduct in the Tennessee case, but the judge disagreed. Varlan said Kelley's crimes in the Tennessee case were separated from Kelley's conduct on Jan. 6 'by years and miles.' Prosecutors reached the same conclusion. In other Jan. 6 cases, however, Trump's Justice Department has argued that the pardons apply to separate convictions. For instance, prosecutors concluded that a Kentucky man's pardon for storming the Capitol also covered his conviction for illegally possessing guns when FBI agents searched his home for the Jan. 6 investigation. Kelley has been jailed since December 2022. His lawyer, Mark Brown, said Kelley did not hurt anybody or directly threaten anybody with violence. Brown urged the judge to reject prosecutors' request to apply a 'terrorism enhancement' in calculating his client's sentence. 'Kelley does not deserve the same sentence as an actual 'terrorist' who injured or killed hundreds or thousands of America citizens,' Brown wrote. Kelley's co-defendant, Austin Carter, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in January 2024. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 4. Kelley created a list of 36 law-enforcement officers to target for assassination and shared it with Carter, calling it their first 'mission,' according to prosecutors. All the officers were involved in Kelley's May 2022 arrest on Capitol riot charges and the FBI's search of his home. 'The proof at trial established that Kelley targeted law enforcement because of their anticipated role in the civil war that Kelley hoped to initiate and because of his animus towards those who participated in his May 2022 arrest and search of his home,' prosecutors wrote. Kelley, Carter and a third man used an encrypted messaging platform to discuss plans, prosecutors said. Carter testified that he met with Kelley to conduct military-style training in November 2022. 'Carter's testimony was unequivocal — he had no doubts that, had he and Kelley not been arrested, the law enforcement personnel included on Kelley's list would have been murdered,' prosecutors wrote. Kelley's attorney said the case involved 'little to no planning.' 'Discussions did not lead to action," Brown wrote. "And while people may not like what Mr. Kelley had to say, he stands behind his position that he has a First Amendment right to free speech.'
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
5-Year-Old Girl Who Fell from Disney Cruise Ship Was Not Placed on Railing by Dad, Sheriff Says
The 5-year-old girl who fell overboard on a Disney Cruise ship was not placed on a balcony railing by her dad, authorities tell PEOPLE The Broward County Sheriff's Office is investigating the circumstances leading up to the fall Both the father and daughter were rescued and safely returned to the ship on June 29The father who saved his 5-year-old daughter after she fell overboard on a Disney Cruise did not place his child on the railing, as online rumors previously speculated. On Sunday, June 29, the Disney Dream cruise ship was returning to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. from a four-night cruise in the Bahamas when the little girl fell overboard from the ship's fourth deck. Her father jumped in after her and both were subsequently pulled from the water and returned to the boat by a Disney rescue team. The Broward Sheriff's Office confirmed to PEOPLE on Wednesday morning that the little girl was not being held by her father on the railing at the time of the fall. They acknowledged to CBS News that the information was "erroneously reported on some social media sites." On Wednesday evening, PIO Veda Coleman-Wright shared additional details from the ongoing investigation, including that the girl "lost her balance while sitting on a railing and [fell] backward through a porthole." She added, "After the girl's mother alerted her husband, who didn't see the incident, he jumped into the ocean to save his daughter." The father, 37, who has not been named, was transported to an area hospital after the ship docked in Port Everglades, Fla. Monday morning and treated for an unspecified injury. The Sheriff's Office applauded the rescue efforts. In a statement to PEOPLE on Tuesday night, a representative wrote, 'The Disney crew was well prepared. Clearly, their training and readiness paid off because they executed a successful ocean rescue.''While there doesn't appear to be anything suspicious, Broward Sheriff's Office detectives are investigating the circumstances that led up to the child falling overboard,' the statement continued. A passenger onboard the ship named Chandler, who asked to be identified only by her first name, recalled the events for PEOPLE. 'There was some kind of commotion,' the passenger said. 'Then this awful scream from what I assume is the mother and then this massive splash.' Chandler noted the events occurred while traveling between Nassau and Grand Bahama Island: 'It sounded like hitting pavement, nothing like if you jump into a pool, it was so loud.'She and her family went to the balcony to get a better look and 15 seconds later, what appeared to be a life vest was dropped into the water. Over the loudspeaker the family heard someone call 'MOB [Man overboard] port side,' and three more flotation devices were thrown in. Within minutes, a crew of four dropped off the ship and into a rescue boat. Chandler's TikTok footage shows rescue workers reaching the father and daughter, pulling them out of the water and safely bringing them back to the ship. Chandler claimed that the incident began at 11:15 a.m. and the duo was pulled up at 11:47 a.m. local time. 'I didn't think they'd find them,' she candidly told PEOPLE. 'I had to tell my own 9-year-old daughter Harper they were probably gone [because] they usually can't find people who fall.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "The crew aboard the Disney Dream swiftly rescued two guests from the water," Disney Cruise Line said in a statement to PEOPLE. "We commend our crew members for their exceptional skills and prompt actions, which ensured the safe return of both guests to the ship within minutes.' They added: 'We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.' Read the original article on People
