Jury returns to deliberate for a second day at Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial
Defense lawyers say prosecutors are unjustly basing federal crimes on what Combs did in the bedroom with his girlfriends as they participated in the swinger lifestyle and on acts of domestic violence involving their client.
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Combs, 55, could face 15 years in prison to life behind bars if he is convicted of all charges.
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After pleading not guilty, Combs chose not to testify as his lawyers built their arguments for acquittal mostly through lengthy cross examinations of dozens of witnesses called by prosecutors, including some of Combs' former employees who took the witness stand reluctantly only after being granted immunity.
When jurors first left the room to begin deliberating on Monday, Combs sat for a while slumped in his chair at the defense table before standing and turning toward three rows of spectators packed with his family and friends.
Those supporters held hands and lowered their heads in prayer, as did Combs, who was several feet from them in the well of the courtroom. After they finished, they together applauded, and so did Combs, still clapping as he turned back toward the front of the room.
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Combs also showed off two books he's reading: 'The Power of Positive Thinking' by Norman Vincent Peale and 'The Happiness Advantage' by Shawn Achor.
Barely an hour into deliberations, the jury foreperson sent a note to the judge, complaining that there was one juror 'who we are concerned cannot follow your Honor's instructions. May I please speak with your Honor or may you please interview him?'
The judge decided instead to send jurors a note reminding them of their duties to deliberate and obligation to follow his instructions on the law.
By day's end, the jury seemed back on track, requesting clarification about what qualifies as drug distribution, an aspect of the racketeering conspiracy charge that will help determine whether Combs can be convicted or exonerated on the count.
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Everyone who testified for the prosecution in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial
Across six weeks of testimony in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking and racketeering trial, federal prosecutors called 34 witnesses, attempting to prove that the rap mogul embraced violence and threats to coerce women into sex and to protect his music empire. In addition to hearing four days of testimony from star witness and former Combs girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who alleged that he subjected her to a decade of abuse, the jury also heard six days of testimony from a former Combs girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym "Jane." She told jurors that Combs provided her drugs and forced her to participate in the orgies – called "freak-offs" or "hotel nights"– for the three years of their relationship. The jury also heard from witnesses who testified they saw Combs be violent toward Ventura, former Combs employees who the prosecution alleged helped him commit crimes, male escorts who testified that they were paid by Combs' associates to participate in sexual encounters, and federal agents who conducted searches of Combs' property and analyzed evidence. Prosecutors called multiple witnesses who, they argued, corroborated Ventura's testimony, including a makeup artist and male escort who both testified about witnessing Combs' violence. Ventura's mother said she took out a home equity loan after Combs allegedly blackmailed her daughter, a loan Combs later repaid; rapper Kid Cudi testified that he was told Combs broke into his home and said he suspected that Combs coordinated the firebombing of his car in retaliation for his relationship with Ventura; and Kerry Morgan told jurors that she pleaded with her former best friend to leave what she said was a toxic and abusive relationship with Combs. One juror was dismissed during the trial for what Judge Arun Subramanian called "serious concerns as to the juror's candor and whether he shaded answers to get on and stay on the jury." The juror – a Black, middle-aged man – was replaced by an older, white man. Combs' attorneys objected to the change, saying it was a "veiled" attempt by the prosecution to alter the racial makeup of the panel. Subramanian dismissed those concerns, saying it was "inappropriate to consider race" in deciding whether the juror's responses to questions about where he lived were appropriate. Combs has pleaded not guilty and denies sexually assaulting or trafficking anyone and has maintained that the sexual relationships were consensual. Combs' lawyers have argued that the rap mogul's domestic violence was driven by jealousy and drug addiction, and that his voyeuristic sexual activities, while not mainstream, are his private business and do not amount to sex trafficking. Here are the federal witnesses who were called during the trial: Israel Florez, hotel security guard Prosecutors began their case by calling a witness whose testimony allowed them to show the jury multiple videos of Combs assaulting Ventura on March 5, 2016, in a Los Angeles hotel. After receiving a report of a woman in distress, security guard Israel Florez testified that he found Combs and Ventura in the elevator vestibule on the sixth floor of the InterContinental Hotel Century City in Los Angeles. "The best way I can describe it is like a devilish stare. He was just looking at me," Florez said about first encountering Combs, adding that he noticed Ventura had a "purple eye." After escorting Ventura out of the hotel, Florez said Combs attempted to offer him a bribe, which he rejected. "He was pretty much holding like a stack of money," he said. "He was pretty much telling me, like, 'Hey, take care of this, don't tell nobody,' pretty much." During Florez's testimony, prosecutors entered into evidence multiple videos of the alleged assault, showing Combs grabbing Ventura, throwing her to the ground and dragging her. Defense attorneys argued that the video – which they acknowledged depicted domestic violence – would be unfairly prejudicial to the jury, but the judge allowed the jury to see the videos. Defense attorneys also noted that his comments about a "devilish stare" were not in written reports about the incident. Daniel Phillip, male escort For their second witness, prosecutors called Daniel Phillip to testify about witnessing Combs being violent toward Ventura. Phillip – who said he was paid as much as $6000 each time he had sex with Ventura while Combs sat in the corner masturbating – testified that he saw Combs throw a bottle at Ventura then drag her across the floor after she did not immediately follow his instructions. "Mr. Combs came out of the room, and I just saw a bottle fly past her and hit the wall," he said. "He grabbed her by her hair, and started dragging her by her hair into her bedroom." "I could hear Cassie yelling, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' and then I could hear again what sounded like she was being slapped or someone was being slapped around and slammed around the room," he testified. Phillip told jurors that he did not feel comfortable intervening because of the power dynamic between him and Combs. "My thoughts was that this was someone with unlimited power, and chances are that even if I did go to the police, that I might still end up losing my life," he said. On cross-examination, Combs' lawyers tried to highlight an alleged inconsistency in his account – whether Combs asked him to leave after the alleged violence or resume having sex with Ventura – but Phillip stood by his original testimony. Cassie Ventura, musician and Combs' ex-girlfriend Combs' former girlfriend and musician Cassie Ventura testified for four days during the first week of the trial, as prosecutors attempted to lay the foundation of their criminal case against Combs. Prosecutors called her as one of their first witnesses in part because she was eight months-pregnant at the time of her testimony. After Combs signed Ventura to Bad Boy Records, she testified that they began an on-and-off relationship that lasted for more than a decade. While Ventura said their relationship had a loving and positive start, Combs allegedly became increasingly violent with her, threatened her if she ever disobeyed him and required her to participate in drug-fueled sex parties called "freak offs." "Every freak-off was directed by Sean. Like, he knew specifically where he wanted everyone to be, the lighting and such," Ventura said. Ventura also testified about multiple violent episodes where Combs allegedly abused her, including the 2016 incident that jurors watched on video. "When I chose to leave, I grabbed what I could and I got out and Sean followed me into the hallway before the elevators and grabbed me up, threw me on the ground, kicked me, tried to drag me back to the room," she said. Ventura testified that the threats and incessant sexual demands from Combs -- as well as a pattern of coerced sex with strangers -- drove her into addiction, exposed her to regular spates of violence and led her to contemplate suicide. The couple broke up in 2018, and in 2023 Ventura sued Combs over what she alleged was a "cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking." While the lawsuit was quickly settled – according to Ventura for $20 million – with no admission of wrongdoing from Combs, the allegations in her lawsuit prompted federal investigators to begin looking into Combs. Ventura told the jury that she decided to testify in the case because it was the "right thing" to do. "I can't carry this anymore. I can't carry the same, the guilt, the way I was guided to treat people like they were disposable. What's right is right, what's wrong is wrong. I'm here to do the right thing," she said. During cross-examination, defense lawyers attempted to use years of text messages between Combs and Ventura to suggest that she was a willing participant in the sex parties and that their relationship was driven by mutual jealousy and infidelity. Defense lawyers have argued that Combs' violence was influenced by his drug use and fundamentally driven by jealousy, not as a desire to coerce others into sex, as prosecutors have alleged. Yasmin Binda, federal agent Yasmin Binda, a federal agent with Homeland Security Investigations, testified about the search conducted on Combs' hotel room shortly after he was arrested in September 2024. According to Binda, investigators found $9,000 in cash, substances that tested positive for MDMA and ketamine, and supplies like lubricant and baby oil that other witnesses have said were commonly used during freak-offs. Jurors were shown photos of the inside of Comb's Park Hyatt hotel room during Binda's testimony. Dawn Richard, former member of Danity Kane Dawn Richard, a former member of the Combs' pop group Danity Kane, told jurors that she personally witnessed Combs assaulting Ventura on multiple occasions, including a 2009 outburst in Los Angeles while Ventura tried to cook breakfast. "He came downstairs angry and was saying where the f--- was his eggs – excuse my language – and he was telling Cassie that she never gets anything right, where the f--- is his food, and he proceeded to come over to her and took the skillet with the eggs in it and tried to hit her over the head with it and she fell to the ground," she testified. Richard also told jurors that she witnessed Combs punch his then-girlfriend Ventura in the face with a "closed fist" in 2009 before a music festival in Central Park. After Ventura put on sunglasses and makeup to hide the injury, Richard said she put on sunglasses "in solidarity" with Ventura. The jury then saw a photo of Richard, Ventura and another member of Danity Kane wearing sunglasses at the festival. Richard also told the jury that the alleged violence extended to other public settings, testifying that Combs punched Ventura in the stomach during a group dinner attended by Usher, Ne-Yo and Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine. Richard mentioned that allegation in her civil lawsuit against Combs, but defense lawyers highlighted that Richard's prior discussion of the dinner did not mention the high-profile guests. Richard in 2024 sued Combs for assault, copyright infringement and false imprisonment, alleging -- among other things -- that he groped her on numerous occasions and forced her to endure inhumane work conditions. Combs denied all of the allegations and his attorneys in May filed a motion to dismiss the case. On cross-examination, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland said Richard's account of an alleged assault has changed several times and suggested Richard agreed to testify against Combs because he ruined her music career by dismantling the music groups she had once been a part of. Kerry Morgan, Ventura's former best friend Ventura's former best friend Kerry Morgan testified about two instances when she said she personally saw Combs assault Ventura. She said she saw Combs hit Ventura in a home Combs rented in Hollywood Hills, and she testified about a second instance when Comb assaulted Ventura during a trip to Jamaica. "I heard her screaming and I went to the hallway. The hallway was extremely long. And they were coming out of the master bedroom and he was dragging her by her hair on the floor," she testified about the incident. Prosecutors also asked Morgan about the aftermath of a 2016 incident when Combs is accused of assaulting Ventura. Morgan's account matched what Ventura told jurors last week, saying the police arrived after the incident but Ventura refused to cooperate. Morgan said her relationship with Ventura ended in 2018 after she says Combs tried to choke Morgan and hit her with a wooden coat hanger. Morgan testified that Combs demanded she tell him "who Cassie was cheating on him with" while Ventura locked herself in a bathroom. Morgan said she later accepted a $30,000 payment from Combs after she threatened to sue. She agreed to a confidentiality deal in return for the money, she testified. She testified her friendship with Ventura ended at that point. David James, Combs' former personal assistant David James, Combs' former personal assistant, testified about his tenure working as Combs' personal assistant, offering jurors an anecdote about his first time entering the headquarters of Bad Boy Entertainment for a job interview. "This is Mr. Combs' kingdom. We're all here to serve in it," James said an employee told him after pointing to a photo of Combs. James told jurors about the wide range of tasks he completed for the rap mogul: from stocking hotel rooms and allegedly buying drugs to being the driver when Combs – allegedly armed with multiple guns – wanted to confront rival record executive Marion "Suge" Knight. Jurors first heard about the alleged interaction between Combs and Knight during Ventura's testimony, and James said the interaction prompted him to eventually leave his job working for Combs. "I was really struck by it. I realized for the first time being Mr. Combs' assistant that my life was in danger," James testified. Regina Ventura, Cassie Ventura's mother Regina Ventura, the mother of star witness Cassie Ventura, told the jury that she took out a home equity loan to pay Combs in order to prevent him from following through on an alleged threat to release a sex tape of her daughter. "The threats that have been made towards me by Sean 'Puffy' Combs are that … he is going to release 2 explicit sex tapes of me," Ventura wrote in an email to her mother and Combs' assistant Capricorn Clark on Dec. 23, 2011. Jurors saw the email when Cassie Ventura testified. "I was physically sick. I did not understand a lot of it. The sex tapes threw me. I did not know [Combs] but I knew that he was going to try to hurt my daughter," she told jurors. Regina Ventura testified that she and her husband decided to take out a loan so they could send Combs the $20,000 he demanded, though he ultimately returned the money. She also testified that she took photographs of the injuries her daughter allegedly suffered from Combs so that they would have a record of the alleged abuse. Approximately 15 years after she documented the injuries, prosecutors last week showed the photos to the jury to underscore Cassie Ventura's testimony about the violence she suffered at Combs' hands. Sharay Hayes, male escort Known professionally as The Punisher – a nickname based on his style of playing basketball – male escort Sharay Hayes told the jury that he was hired about a dozen times by Combs and Ventura. He said he first met Combs and Cassie Ventura in 2012, when he was hired to help create a "sexy erotic scene" for what, Ventura said, was Combs' birthday. He testified that Ventura instructed him to come to Trump International Hotel & Tower on Central Park West in Manhattan to perform a strip act. When he arrived, Ventura asked him to cover her in baby oil while Combs watched, Hayes said. "I was specifically told to ... try not to look at him, no communication or anything between me and him," he said. "The room was very dimly lit. … All of the furniture was covered in sheets and there was an area pretty much set up for me to sit and her to sit across from me, and there were little bowls in the area with baby oil in them." Hayes told jurors that Combs was nude for the encounter and wore a veil, occasionally masturbating during the interaction and offering "subtle directions" to Ventura. After their first interaction, Hayes said he worked for the couple up to 12 more times, receiving $1,200 to $2,000 on each occasion. Cross-examined by Combs' lawyers, Hayes testified that he believed Ventura sometimes flinched during some of Combs' directives but otherwise appeared comfortable during the exchanges, potentially undercutting the argument she was coerced to participate. The question of whether Ventura was forced or participated voluntarily is one of the most critical issues in the case against Combs. Gerald Gannon, federal agent Gerald Gannon, a special agent from United States Homeland Security Investigations, walked the jury through some of the evidence that he said was recovered from the rap star's home on the exclusive Miami Beach enclave of Star Island. Gannon testified that federal agents recovered the parts of two AR-15 assault-style rifles with defaced serial numbers only feet from where Combs allegedly stored materials for freak-offs -- including baby oil, lingerie, platform heels and sex toys. Prosecutors have argued that the threat of violence allowed Combs to coerce his alleged victims to participate in freak-offs. Holding parts of the weapons in court for the jury to see, Gannon testified that investigators recovered a fully-loaded handgun in a piece of luggage found in Combs' residence. Jurors also saw the trove of drugs allegedly found in Combs' residence, including a variety of pills, marijuana, powders and other drugs that prosecutors have alleged were used to make women compliant during freak-offs and would allow them to perform long past the point of exhaustion. Dawn Hughes, expert witness Psychologist Dawn Hughes was called by prosecutors to explain to the jury that many people opt to stay in abusive relationships because they feel trapped or form an "intense psychological bond" that draws them to their abuser. "It's hard for us to break up with someone under the best of circumstances," Hughes said. "When you have all this violence and abuse, you're just trying to live day to day in this very micro way." She explained that oftentimes victims' emotional strength becomes devoted to avoiding beatings instead of plotting a way out of an abusive relationship. While Hughes as an expert witness was not allowed to directly analyze Combs' relationship with Ventura, she offered indirect context for some of the topics Ventura touched on during her testimony. If victims are able to escape an abusive relationship, Hughes told the jury, they often return, as Ventura testified that she did repeatedly with Combs. Hughes also said that victims often adopt passive self-defense mechanisms that don't provoke their abusers, such as "curling up in a ball." Earlier witnesses Dawn Richard and Kerry Morgan both testified that they saw Ventura drop into a fetal position during beatings they said they witnessed Combs inflicting. George Kaplan, former personal assistant Testifying under an immunity deal so that he cannot be prosecuted for anything he admits to, Combs' former assistant George Kaplan told jurors he quit his job after 15 months because he could no longer continue "fixing" problems for Combs after the mogul's repeated acts of violence. Kaplan testified that he saw Combs become violent on three occasions, including one episode when he was summoned to Combs' bedroom only to find Ventura crying and bruised in bed. He also testified seeing Combs holding a whisky glass over Ventura's head during a flight to Las Vegas and another instance in 2015 when a "very angry" Combs threw apples at another one of his girlfriends. "In my heart of hearts I knew what was happening and I felt an element of guilt that I didn't do anything to stop it," he told jurors about why he stopped working for Combs. Kaplan also told jurors about the process of setting up and cleaning hotel rooms for the rap mogul. He testified that he often was given only a few hours' notice to set up a room and came prepared with a "hotel bag" filled with what were essentials for Combs: candles, baby oil, Astroglide lubricant, an audio speaker and extra clothing. He also said that he would be tasked with cleaning the rooms after Combs was done because he was concerned that if hotel staff had cleaned the rooms immediately after Combs left, they might try to sell videos of images of the aftermath of a freak-off. Scott Mescudi, musician and actor Kid Cudi – whose legal name is Scott Mescudi – told jurors that his brief relationship with Cassie Ventura was marked by violent threats from Combs that prompted him and Ventura to stop seeing one another. He told jurors that he suspected Combs allegedly broke into his home and coordinated the firebombing of his high-end sports car. After starting a romance with the singer and model who was involved with Combs on and off for years, Mescudi said he received an abrupt phone call from Ventura to warn that Combs had learned they were seeing each other. He said he picked up Ventura and soon received a call from Combs' assistant informing him that Combs had broken into his home. "I said, 'M—----, you in my house?' And he said, 'What's up?' 'Are you in my house? I just want to talk to you. I'm on my way over right now,'" he testified. Mescudi said he quickly drove to his home but did not find Combs, though there were traces of his alleged visit. He said the Christmas gifts he bought for his family had been opened and his dog was locked in the bathroom. He also testified that he reported the incident to police. Mescudi said he and Ventura eventually broke up because "things were getting out of hand" and he felt concerned for their safety. During her testimony, Ventura said that Combs threatened to hurt her and Mescudi if their relationship continued and vowed to blow up the car of the rival rapper. Mescudi testified that he suspected Combs followed through with the threat in early 2012, telling jurors that someone had cut the soft top of his Porsche open and placed a lit Molotov cocktail inside. Jurors were shown the results of that episode when prosecutors entered into evidence multiple photos of the charred vehicle. Defense lawyers have denied that Combs had any role in the firebombing of the vehicle. Mylah Morales, makeup artist Prosecutors called makeup artist Mylah Morales to testify about a 2010 incident when Combs allegedly assaulted Ventura in their hotel suite. According to Morales, Combs stormed into the room they rented at the Beverly Hills Hotel after a night out. "Where the f--- is she?" Combs allegedly shouted before he walked into the bedroom where Ventura was and closed the door, according to Morales' testimony. Morales said she heard "yelling and screaming" before Combs exited the hotel room. She said Ventura had a swollen eye, busted lip and "knots on her head" after the incident. According to Morales, Ventura stayed with her for a few days to recover after the incident. Morales testified that a friend who was a doctor checked on Ventura to see if she had a concussion and suggested she visit an emergency room, according to her testimony, but Ventura allegedly said it was "her wish not to go to the ER." On cross-examination, Combs' lawyers highlighted that Morales did not directly witness the alleged assault because she was outside the bedroom. Frédéric Zemmour, hotel manager The general manager of the L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, Frédéric Zemmour, said Combs frequently stayed at the hotel, and his guest profile noted some characteristics that other witnesses said were features of the drug-fueled sex parties called "freak offs" that Combs would host. "Always spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil, place rooms out of order upon departure for deep cleaning," Zemmour said, citing notes the hotel kept on Combs. When Ventura testified last week, she said Combs often booked rooms at L'Ermitage Beverly Hills to host freak-offs. She recounted one instance when Combs allegedly requested she get into a blowup pool that was filled with "lube and oil." Joshua Croft, special agent Joshua Croft, a special agent from Homeland Security Investigations, briefly testified about the process for examining some of the electronic devices recovered during the investigation into Combs. He told the jury that he conducted computer extractions from three laptops that belonged to Cassie Ventura. One of the laptops included a user profile for Frank Black, an alias used by Sean Combs, he said. Capricorn Clark, Combs' former personal assistant One of Combs' longest-serving personal assistants, Capricorn Clark told jurors about the inner workings of how Combs did business and offered potentially damaging testimony about multiple episodes that prosecutors say demonstrate how the rap mogul's business empire also served as a criminal organization. She told jurors that she was told she would be "thrown into the East River" if she failed a lie detector test about the theft of Combs' jewelry, that she was kidnapped to join Combs to confront rival musician Kid Cudi, and how she witnessed Combs beat his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. In the early-morning hours of Dec. 22, 2011, Clark testified that Combs arrived at her apartment with a handgun and forced her to go with him to the home of Kid Cudi, a rival musician who briefly dated Ventura. When she protested, Clark testified Combs, gun allegedly in hand, told her, "I don't give a f--- what you want to do, go get dressed." While Kid Cudi was not at his home when Combs and his bodyguard allegedly arrived, Clark testified that Combs ordered her and the bodyguard to convince Mescudi not to tell police Combs was involved in the break-in at the house. "If you don't convince him, I'm going to kill all you m-------------" Clark recalled Combs telling her. When she returned to Combs' home with Ventura, Clark said Combs, standing in his robe and underwear, allegedly began kicking Ventura. She testified that Combs kicked Ventura repeatedly, "and each kick she would crouch into more and more a fetal position" until she was all the way to the street. Clark also told jurors that she was forced to take a series of lie detector tests during her first year working for Combs after some jewelry loaned to him went missing. She testified about reporting to the unfinished corporate headquarters of Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment, where an unidentified man forced her to take multiple lie detector tests over the course of a week. If she flunked the test, she testified that the man told her, "They're going to throw you in the East River." During a cross-examination that hopscotched from time period to time period, Capricorn Clark testified that she did not know the connection between Sean Combs and the large man she remembered repeatedly administering the lie detector test. While prosecutors sought to use Clark's testimony to highlight how Combs used his wealth, power, and employees to lead a criminal enterprise, defense attorneys attempted to undercut that narrative by highlighting messages that suggested Clark was eager to work for a man who held a singular position atop the worlds of music and culture. Christopher Ignacio, Los Angeles Police Department officer Los Angeles Police Department Officer Christopher Ignacio testified about responding to the home of Scott Mescudi, aka rapper Kid Cudi, on Dec. 22, 2011, after he reported a break-in. After walking through the home, Ignacio said he recorded the incident as trespassing. He also said that he ran the license plate from a black Cadillac Escalade seen driving from the house, and jurors saw a report from the California Department of Motor Vehicles that showed the registered owner of the SUV was Bad Boy Productions, Inc. The DMV record is the only piece of evidence that directly links Combs to the break-in. Lance Jimenez, Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigator Defense attorneys made their first request for a mistrial since the start of the trial after Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigator Lance Jimenez was questioned about the fingerprint evidence originally recovered from Kid Cudi's home during the break-in and he obtained while investigating the scene of his torched Porsche 911. Kid Cudi testified that he suspected Combs was behind the fire, though the rap mogul has long denied being involved. Jimenez told jurors that he responded to the incident on Jan. 9, 2012, and quickly reached the conclusion that the fire was caused by a "makeshift fire bomb" known as a Molotov cocktail. "There was a bottle on the front seat, and there was a cloth handkerchief on the center console that was burned," Jimenez testified. "Inside the bottle, I observed a liquid that gave off an odor I know to be gasoline." Jimenez walked the jury through multiple photos of the damage to the vehicle, including the soot damage on the driver's door, the burns on the interior, and the cut in the canvas roof. The jury also saw a picture of the lighter, the 40-ounce Olde English 800 malt liquor bottle used to make the Molotov cocktail, and a burned handkerchief. Defense lawyers moved for a mistrial after Jimenez testified about how fingerprint evidence taken from the scene of Kid Cudi's break-in was later allegedly destroyed by the Los Angeles Police Department. Prosecutors tried to ask if evidence is regularly destroyed during investigations, prompting an objection from defense lawyers. Combs' lawyers argued the question of whether it was "unusual" for fingerprint evidence to be destroyed unfairly suggested that Combs was tampering with the investigation. Judge Subramanian denied the request for the mistrial but instructed the jury that the testimony about the fingerprint evidence was 'irrelevant.' Deonte Nash, celebrity stylist Cassie Ventura's longtime friend, celebrity stylist Deonte Nash, testified that he "quite often" saw Combs' girlfriend Ventura with bruises, and knew her to spend nights with Combs in hotel rooms against her will. During his testimony, Nash told the jury about numerous instances of violence and threats of violence by Combs, specifically one incident when he said Ventura considered climbing over a hotel balcony in Beverly Hills to escape Combs, who had just arrived. Nash testified that Ventura "was frightened" after he told her "that Puff was downstairs looking for her." Testifying because he was subpoenaed, Nash told the jury he heard Combs telling Ventura "that he wouldn't put her music out, that he would get her parents fired from their jobs, that he would put out sex tapes.' Federal prosecutors have alleged Combs maintained coercive control over Ventura that caused her to engage in freak-offs that she did not want to be part of. On cross examination, Nash acknowledged that Ventura kept part of her life "secret" from him, despite their close relationship. 'Mia,' Combs' former personal assistant Testifying over the course of three days, Combs' former personal assistant – who testified under the pseudonym 'Mia' – offered emotional and detailed testimony about how Combs allegedly sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions while she worked for him. She testified that Combs first sexually assaulted her a few months into her job as his assistant while they were at a New York hotel. She said that Combs had rented the penthouse and asked to speak with her alone in the kitchen, where he allegedly put his hand up the side of her dress and kissed her. Months later, she told the jury that Combs allegedly raped her inside his home on Beverly Grove Drive in Los Angeles. She told the court she was asleep in a guest room and remembered waking to "the weight of a person on top of me." She testified that she remembered Combs "telling me 'shh'" and "using one hand to get his pants off." 'It was very quick but felt like forever,' she testified, saying the incident left her feeling 'terrified and confused and ashamed and scared.' She also testified about a separate incident where Combs allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him. Overall, she said the assaults made her "always" worried about being physically hurt or having her reputation tarnished by Combs. "I didn't want to die or get hurt," Mia testified. She told the court she also worried that Combs would "fire me and twist the story into making me look like a threat." In addition to telling the jury about how Combs allegedly assaulted her on different occasions, Mia testified that she witnessed multiple times when Combs allegedly abused Ventura, with whom she said she had a close, sister-like relationship. She told the court she saw Combs get violent with Ventura at his houses, at her apartments, at hotels and at events, as well as on vacation. "I've seen him attack her. I've seen him throw her on the ground. I've seen him crack her head open. I've seen him chase her," Mia testified. Mia told jurors about helping set up the hotel rooms for the days-long, drug-fueled orgies that Combs hosted, called "freak-offs." Mia said she packed "all of his lotions and potions, baby oil, Astroglide, condoms" and candles for the events, was on standby if he needed anything, and would clean the rooms after the events to prevent bad publicity. While the jury has heard from other assistants employed by Combs, the duration and intensity of Mia's time with Combs offered jurors a window into the Combs business empire that no other witness had provided. She testified that Combs' intense work demands often required that she stay awake for days on end, always keep Combs in her line of sight, and accommodate all of his requests. The jury saw a list of responsibilities she assembled, saying, "Every single day is different." He might "ask you to do 17,000 things," which included everything from "cracking his knuckles" to "doing his taxes" to standing next to him for 22 hours a day doing nothing, she testified. Mia also testified about growing accustomed to Combs' alleged violence, describing at least three different items Combs threw at her: a book, a computer and a bowl of spaghetti. She told the jury about one instance when Combs lashed out, allegedly throwing a computer at her head after the Wi-Fi stopped working in his trailer on the set of a music video shoot in Los Angeles. During a lengthy cross-examination, defense attorneys sought to undercut Mia's allegations of abuse and rape by showing the jury dozens of text messages and social media posts where she praised Combs and thanked him for his support. "Thank you for being the good kind of crazy," she wrote in one post on Combs' birthday. "Thank you for being a friend and bringing friends into my life." While acknowledging that the earlier posts were legitimate, Mia pushed back against Combs' lawyers' effort to make her contradict her testimony. "It's called psychological abuse," Mia told jurors why she wrote positive things about Combs in the past. Sylvia Oken, Beverly Hills Hotel manager Susan Oken, the manager of the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, testified that Combs often stayed at her establishment under the name "Frank Black" or "Philip Pines," both of the names aliases that other witnesses testified that Combs used. Oken testified that Combs once incurred an extra $300 charge to clean the drapes in a room in which he stayed and another $500 charge to clean "oil damage." Oken said the charge reflected something "beyond the scope of what we'd normally clean." The prosecution's questioning was a callback to earlier testimony about the so-called "freak-off" orgies that Combs would allegedly host and, according to testimony, featured gallons of baby oil. Eddy Garcia, security guard at the InterContinental Hotel Eddy Garcia, a security guard for the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, testified that Combs paid him $100,000 in an attempt to secure his silence and bury a hotel security surveillance video of the rap mogul assaulting Ventura, now a central piece of evidence in the criminal case that threatens to send Combs to prison for life. Prosecutors have argued that Combs' $100,000 payment to Garcia was a bribe and one of the underlying crimes at the heart of their allegation that the hip-hop superstar is guilty of racketeering conspiracy. They allege that Combs realized the episode could reveal years of criminal conduct and might pull back the curtain on how the mogul allegedly used his business empire to coerce women into sex, threaten them into silence, and protect his public reputation. About an hour into his shift on March 5, 2016, Garcia testified that he received an unexpected call on his work phone from Combs' then-chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, who requested a copy of the security video. Despite telling her that she would need to contact hotel management or get a subpoena to view the footage, Garcia testified that Khorram arrived in the hotel lobby an hour later to try to watch the recording. "She was asking about the video and if there was any way she could see it," he said. "She wanted to know what they were dealing with." Garcia said he apologized and said he could not show it to her, though he testified that he warned her, "Off the record: it's bad." Later that night, Garcia testified, he received a phone call from Khorram and a noticeably "nervous" Combs who tried to explain his actions. 'Mr. Combs sounded very nervous, just talking really fast, but was just saying he had a little too much to drink and that I knew how things was with women. One thing led to another and how if this got out it could ruin him,' Garcia said. Garcia testified that he agreed to sell to Combs what he thought was the only copy of the video for $100,000 in cash. He agreed to provide copies of his and his coworkers' drivers licenses, consent to a nondisclosure agreement, and sign a declaration that no other copies of the video existed. Garcia told jurors that Combs was 'excited' about the agreement and "referred to me as 'Eddy my angel.'" When he met with Combs to sell him the video, the rap mogul allegedly contacted Ventura on FaceTime so she could communicate that she, too, wanted the video to go away. Garcia's testimony concluded with minimal cross-examination from the defense. Garcia testified in agreement with defense attorney Brian Steel that Combs had treated him professionally. Derek Ferguson, former CFO of Combs' enterprises Derek Ferguson, the longtime chief financial officer of Combs' enterprises, testified about the financial structure of Combs' business empire and how Combs often intertwined his personal and business interests. Prosecutors have argued that Combs' companies doubled as a criminal enterprise that allowed him to commit crimes for years with few repercussions. During Ferguson's testimony, jurors also saw documents showing a series of wire transfers in 2011 to and from Cassie Ventura's mother, Regina Ventura. While Ferguson testified that he did not know the reason for the $20,000 payment, jurors last month heard directly from Regina Ventura, who testified that she and her husband took out a home equity loan to fund the payment. She testified Combs demanded the payment to "recoup" money he had spent on Cassie Ventura "because he was angry that she had a relationship with Scott Mescudi." During his cross examination, Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo tried to use Ferguson's 19 years of experience working with Combs to cast doubt on the way prosecutors have described Combs' business empire. "Did you see anyone help Sean Combs commit crimes?" Agnifilo asked. "No," Ferguson testified in response. Frank Piazza, video analyst Prosecutors called forensic analyst Frank Piazza to verify the authenticity of the 2016 hotel security surveillance video showing Combs assaulting Ventura, as well as enter into evidence ten videos allegedly taken of "freak-offs." Federal prosecutors have argued that Combs recorded the "freak-offs" and later used them as blackmail to keep his alleged victims quiet. Piazza testified that the video showing the hotel assault appeared to him to be unaltered from its original form. He walked the jury through specific frames of the video shot, narrating the moments when Combs throws Ventura to the ground and tries to throw a vase at her. He testified that the videos in evidence were authentic. "There are no anomalies going on in the file to indicate it had been manually altered," he testified about the videos, which defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought to keep out of the trial. Bryana 'Bana' Bongolan, longtime Cassie Ventura friend The testimony of longtime Cassie Ventura friend Bryana Bongolan focused on an alleged September 2016 incident that prosecutors argued is emblematic of Combs' willingness to openly use violence in front of Ventura. Bongolan told jurors that she was staying overnight in Ventura's Los Angeles apartment when Combs began knocking on the door loudly and demanded to be let inside. She testified that Combs came from behind her and tried to lift her over the railing of the apartment's 17th-floor balcony, briefly dangled her, then threw her into a coffee table. "He lifted me and then had me on top of the rail," Bongolan said. "For a split second, I was thinking I was going to fall, but for the most part he was yelling at me, so I was trying to answer him." Bongolan said she was allegedly held aloft for about 15 seconds as Combs repeatedly shouted, "You know what the f--- you did." She testified that she still does not know what triggered the alleged incident. Bongolan also told the jury that she noticed Ventura's injuries from time to time while they were working together. She told jurors that Ventura FaceTimed her in December 2016 to show her a black eye she said she suffered when Combs assaulted her in a Los Angeles Hotel. Bongolan also testified about a separate alleged incident in which she said Combs stormed into Ventura's apartment in the middle of the night and threw a knife at her. She also testified that Ventura threw it back without hitting Combs. Defense attorneys tried to cast doubt on Bongolan's testimony by introducing evidence showing that Combs was in New York, not Los Angeles, around the time that Bongolan said the attack happened. While Judge Subramanian commended defense attorneys for what he called their 'Perry Mason' moment, he declined to declare a mistrial over the alleged perjury. When questioned by prosecutors after being presented with the hotel receipts showing Combs was in New York, Bongolan insisted that the incident occurred but could not be sure of the date. Enrique Santos, forensic analyst for US Attorney's Office SDNY Following Bongolan's testimony, prosecutors called forensic analyst Enrique Santos of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York to introduce evidence retrieved from a cell phone of Sean Combs' one-time chief of staff, Kristina Khorram. Prosecutors sought to bolster Bongolan's testimony by showing the jury a message from Ventura to Khorram about the alleged balcony attack. "He came into my house and my friends were here," Ventura allegedly texted Bongolan on Sept. 30, 2016. "They woke me up because he was ringing the bell like crazy." The message allegedly continued, "He went at Bana and choked her, then dangled her feet off the balcony." 'Jane,' Combs' ex-girlfriend Referred to in the indictment as 'Victim-2,' Combs' ex-girlfriend testified under the pseudonym 'Jane' for six days, the longest any single witness in the trial spent on the witness stand. Often testifying through tears, Jane told jurors that Combs provided her drugs and forced her to participate in the orgies – called "freak-offs" or "hotel nights"– for the three years of their relationship. Jane alleged that the "hotel nights" – which she told the jury took up 90% of her time with Combs – could last as long as three days and would require her, during the sessions, to have sex with up to three other men in addition to Combs. Saying she felt pressure to please Combs, whom she testified would masturbate while watching Jane with the male escorts, Jane said she relied on drugs to make it through the sex marathons. "I just feel like at this point I had done so many of these that I just know how to just tune out and get in a zone," she said of living through the sexual escapades. "I just know what my partner likes to see, and I just turn on this person and I just begin.' Jane testified that the routine only ended when federal agents arrested Combs in September 2024 for alleged sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution, charges Combs has denied. Jane's testimony at times mirrored the allegations made by Comb's other ex-girlfriend, the musician Cassie Ventura, who likewise took the jury through a narrative of male prostitutes, days-long sexual encounters and the drugs and alcohol that fueled them. Both women testified about relationships with Combs that became consumed by the sex sessions, telling the jury how they took drugs to endure the sex and were allegedly required to book the male escorts with whom they were then forced to have sex. Both Ventura and Jane testified that they repeatedly told Combs they did not want to participate in the "freak-offs" after first agreeing to them to satisfy Combs' appetites. Unlike Ventura, who testified that Combs sometimes attacked her to force her to continue participating in "freak-offs," Jane said that Combs coerced her by threatening to withhold his financial support or to potentially release sex tapes of her to damage her reputation. She testified about one violent episode when Combs allegedly beat her after she initiated a fight over Combs seeing another woman, and then forced her to have sex with a male escort afterward. During questioning from prosecutors, Jane acknowledged she was deeply jealous of Combs' relationships with other women, tired of the hotel nights, and felt manipulated by Combs. Prosecutors showed jurors dozens of text messages and notes they said reinforced both Jane's frustration with Combs and her repeated requests to get out of the "hotel nights," which prosecutors hope will bolster their argument that the sexual encounters were not fully consensual. "I realized that since 2021 that I had been saying the same thing over and over again," Jane told jurors about her frequent pleas to stop participating in the hotel nights. Jane's testimony also offered jurors a window into the unraveling of Comb's personal and professional life following Ventura's explosive 2023 civil lawsuit against him, the release of the hotel security surveillance video of him assaulting her, and the criminal investigation into his behavior, which culminated in Combs' arrest in September 2024. "I just couldn't sleep. I was just reading these pages and going through a nightmare," Jane testified, explaining her first reaction after reading Ventura's lawsuit, in which Ventura narrated a story that Jane testified was painfully similar to the life she said she had been forced to lead: "I can't believe I am reading my own story." Combs' attorneys spent days trying to cast doubt on those claims by getting Jane to admit that her relationship with Combs was complex and even loving. Jane, one of the prosecution's key witnesses, admitted under cross-examination that still loves Combs, deeply wanted to have a normal relationship with him, and was jealous of the time he spent with other women. "I was just made to be, just carry this impossible pressure and they weren't asked to hold any of that pressure like I did," Jane testified. "I just thought it was unfair. All the nights with these men. Andre LaMon, Homeland Security Investigations agent Testifying about the raid on Combs' Los Angeles home in March 2024, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Andre Lamon told jurors that law enforcement agents found bulk amounts of lubricants, firearms and drugs during the search. Prosecutors showed the jury photos of 18 boxes of lubricant stacked on top of one another in a garage and bottles of AstroGlide lined up neatly on shelves, in drawers and in a cigar box, interspersed with bottles of Johnson & Johnson baby oil. Lamon said agents seized 200 bottles of baby oil and 900 bottles of AstroGlide lubricant from the property. Lamon held up plastic bags of drugs for the court to see, which he said were seized from the home. The substances included ketamine and MDMA, he testified. The jury saw photographs of firearms that agents seized from Combs' home, including a bolt-action Ruger rifle, Smith & Wesson M&P AR15-style semi-automatic rifles, a Glock pistol, and a Mossberg pump-action shotgun. A separate photograph showed a 60-round drum magazine loaded with 59 rounds of "green tip" ammunition, meant to penetrate body armor. Earlier in the trial, jurors saw similar photos of firearms, drugs and lubricant that were seized from Combs' Miami home. Prosecutors argued that the proximity of the guns in Combs' home to items issued for the "freak-off" sex parties demonstrated the coercive nature of the sexual escapades. Upon questioning by the defense, Lamon testified that the guns were kept in a secure location. Jonathan Perez, Combs' former personal assistant Jonathan Perez was the fifth of Combs' former personal assistants to testify during the lengthy trial and the fourth witness to be granted immunity. Like other personal assistants who have appeared during the trial, Perez testified that he purchased illegal drugs for Combs and that the rap mogul's Gucci pouch contained money and drugs, including cocaine, ketamine, molly, Adderall and Xanax. Perez also told the jury that he communicated with Combs and helped facilitate a $3,500 payment for an escort. The alleged payment was in June 2024 and followed an evening that, Jane testified earlier in the trial, had turned violent, after which Combs then allegedly forced her to have sex with a male escort. Perez testified that Combs called him that evening and that Perez told Jane that Combs did not spend time with another woman, in an effort to defuse the situation. Later, Perez testified, he helped facilitate a $3,500 payment for Combs' escort. On cross-examination, Perez testified that setting up hotel rooms and procuring drugs were personal errands and not work-related tasks. He said those tasks took up 1% of his time compared with his business-related duties. Perez's testimony was briefly watched by rapper Kanye West, who now goes by the name Ye. One of the few major celebrities to offer Combs support during the trial, Ye briefly entered Manhattan Federal Court to watch the testimony from an overflow room for about 15 minutes. Ananya Sankar, paralegal at US Attorney's Office Prosecutors called Anaya Sankar, a paralegal specialist for the United States Attorney's Office, to introduce a series of text messages into the record. As a so-called 'summary witness,' Sankar was able to read evidence into the record despite lacking direct knowledge about the messages. The names of Combs' former chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, and security guard Damian Butler were mentioned by other witnesses as key individuals who allegedly assisted Combs, but prosecutors have not called either of them to the stand. Instead, prosecutors used Sankar to offer to the jury additional evidence related to either of Combs' employees to bolster the allegations against him. Though prosecutors allege that Combs relied on others to orchestrate his criminal enterprise, no one besides Combs has been charged with any crimes. DeLeassa Penland, federal agent Prosecutors used the testimony of U.S. Attorney's Office Special Agent DeLeassa Penland to show the jury evidence that, they say, proves Combs used his business empire to covertly run a criminal enterprise. When Combs caused more than $46,000 worth of damage to his room at the InterContinental Hotel in Manhattan's Times Square, Combs' credit card bill that month – totaling $944,059 in charges – was paid through multiple bank accounts controlled by his companies, according to evidence shown to the jury. When Combs used his credit card to buy airline tickets for former girlfriend Cassie Ventura and a male escort in 2010, those charges were similarly paid through a Signature Bank account held by Bad Boy Entertainment Worldwide, according to testimony. Prosecutors also used Penland's testimony to play the jury portions of the extended videos Combs took of 'freak-offs.' Prosecutors say the videos show Combs coerced women into sex and used the videos as leverage against them, while defense lawyers argue the videos show consenting adults participating in sex. The videos themselves were admitted under seal because of the sensitive nature of what they show, and the judge has ruled that no one outside the jury and the parties in the case may view them. News organizations, including ABC News, went to court seeking at least limited access in order to describe what the tapes show, but U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian rebuffed that request. Brendan Paul, former Combs assistant Brendan Paul was the sixth former assistant to Combs who testified during the trial. Granted immunity ahead of his testimony, he told the jury that he purchased and carried drugs for Combs. Paul was arrested in March 2024 for cocaine possession while aboard a private plane with Combs. While he testified that the drugs belonged to Combs, he said he didn't tell law enforcement out of 'loyalty' to the rap mogul. The drug charges against Paul were dropped last year after he completed a pre-trial intervention program. Paul also told the jury that Combs wanted his assistants to 'move like SEAL Team Six' and anticipate his every need. He testified that it was part of his job to buy a pound of marijuana every two months and to procure a powdery mix of ketamine and molly, known as tusi, that was 'dyed pink for the aesthetic.' Paul further testified that he set up hotel rooms for so-called "freak-off" sexual encounters, which he knew as 'wild king nights,' stocking items like lubricant and baby oil. The jury saw photos of the items arranged in Combs' Los Angeles homes. On cross-examination, Paul testified that he never noticed 'Jane,' the former Combs girlfriend who testified under a pseudonym, being hesitant or apprehensive about participating in what she called 'hotel night' sexual encounters. Paul said he considered "wild king nights" to be Combs' personal time, 'like an escape.' Joseph Cerciello, Homeland Security Investigations special agent Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Joseph Cerciello, the final summary witness for the government, told jurors that he reviewed 'multiple hours' of explicit videos ahead of his testimony. Federal prosecutors said they were able to identify more than 40 arranged sexual encounters with male escorts – referred to at various times during testimony as 'freak-offs,' 'hotel nights' or 'wild king nights,' depending on the witness – that allegedly took place between 2021 and 2024, including one prosecutors say happened just weeks before Combs' arrest in September 2024. Combs has maintained that all encounters were consensual. During Cerciello's testimony, the jury was shown text messages, travel records, hotel receipts and other records that prosecutors say demonstrate that the sexual acts depicted in the videos were the result of alleged coordinated criminal activity by Combs and his employees. The messages showed Combs coordinating with others to pay for escorts, arranging travel for alleged victims, and requesting additional supplies for freak offs.
Boston Globe
11 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Jury returns to deliberate for a second day at Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial
Prosecutors say Combs for two decades used his fame, fortune and a roster of employees and associates to help him coerce and force two different girlfriends to repeatedly perform sexually with male sex workers for days at a time while he watched and sometimes filmed the drug-fueled events. Defense lawyers say prosecutors are unjustly basing federal crimes on what Combs did in the bedroom with his girlfriends as they participated in the swinger lifestyle and on acts of domestic violence involving their client. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Combs, 55, could face 15 years in prison to life behind bars if he is convicted of all charges. Advertisement After pleading not guilty, Combs chose not to testify as his lawyers built their arguments for acquittal mostly through lengthy cross examinations of dozens of witnesses called by prosecutors, including some of Combs' former employees who took the witness stand reluctantly only after being granted immunity. When jurors first left the room to begin deliberating on Monday, Combs sat for a while slumped in his chair at the defense table before standing and turning toward three rows of spectators packed with his family and friends. Those supporters held hands and lowered their heads in prayer, as did Combs, who was several feet from them in the well of the courtroom. After they finished, they together applauded, and so did Combs, still clapping as he turned back toward the front of the room. Advertisement Combs also showed off two books he's reading: 'The Power of Positive Thinking' by Norman Vincent Peale and 'The Happiness Advantage' by Shawn Achor. Barely an hour into deliberations, the jury foreperson sent a note to the judge, complaining that there was one juror 'who we are concerned cannot follow your Honor's instructions. May I please speak with your Honor or may you please interview him?' The judge decided instead to send jurors a note reminding them of their duties to deliberate and obligation to follow his instructions on the law. By day's end, the jury seemed back on track, requesting clarification about what qualifies as drug distribution, an aspect of the racketeering conspiracy charge that will help determine whether Combs can be convicted or exonerated on the count.
13 hours ago
Could you be an impartial juror in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial?
For more than 30 years, Sean Combs was a dominant presence in New York's music and culture scene, as he turned a startup record label and a "Bad Boy" reputation into a nearly billion-dollar business empire. Now, some of the same New Yorkers who witnessed Combs' stunning rise are following his staggering fall from grace during the rap mogul's federal trial. On Monday, a jury of eight men and four women began deliberating whether Combs is guilty of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in proposition. Prosecutors allege that Combs leveraged his employees and influence to coerce women into sex before turning to threats and violence to ensure their silence. Combs has pleaded not guilty and insists that any sexual activity was between consenting adults. With the allegations against Combs well-publicized ahead of the trial, about half of the jurors on the panel acknowledged they had previously heard about the claims. Some of the jurors said they watched the 2016 surveillance video of Combs violently assaulting his ex-girlfriend and star witness Cassie Ventura, while others admitted seeing online memes about baby oil and AstroGlide, of which prosecutors say they recovered more than 1,000 bottles when they raided Combs' homes. Each of the jurors who made it on the final panel told the judge they would be able to set aside their knowledge of the case and decide it based on only the evidence at trial. "The right to an impartial jury doesn't mean jurors who've never heard of a defendant," said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "It means jurors who are able to hear the evidence and the judge's instructions on the law, and come to a fair conclusion without making up their minds in advance." Trials of high-profile figures put a unique strain on the process for selecting jurors, with the fame of some defendants limiting the pool of potential jurors while also raising the possibility that some people are overly eager to serve on the jury. After weeks of testimony, one juror in the Combs trial was dismissed over concerns he provided inconsistent answers during the selection process to ensure he made it on the jury. When ABC News approached 12 New Yorkers randomly -- in New York City and Combs' hometown of Mount Vernon in Westchester County -- nearly every person said they were familiar with Combs' life, work, and the allegations against him. "I think that you have to be able to take out your appreciation for someone, and you know, things you might love about them to make a true and honest conviction of what you believe the truth is," said Travis Lapp, a 22-year-old student and musician from SoHo. "I love me some Diddy. I love me some Diddy music. But if he's wrong, he's wrong," said Salisha Winter, who was interviewed by ABC News in downtown Mount Vernon. Other New Yorkers said they were unfamiliar with the specific allegations against Combs or his body of work; however, the prolific number of online memes or jokes about the claims has defined their view of the case. "I know who Sean Combs is," said Max, a 36-year-old art dealer. "I guess, musician, the whole baby oil thing." "I feel like I would probably have some issues being able to be unbiased. I mean, he's all over social media," added Brinkley, a 25-year-old filmmaker who was interviewed in SoHo. According to Levitt, the jury selection process was built to root out those preexisting biases from making their way into the courtroom. While Combs' reputation might precede him in the eyes of some potential jurors, to be seated on the final jury, individuals need to vow to set those beliefs aside. "The trial system is structured to try to help jurors decide impartially. Vibes are always in the background, but it's not just vibes -- it's a stream of evidence under particular rules, with constant reminders to let that evidence be the guide," Levitt noted. When asked by ABC News, most of the 12 New Yorkers who were questioned on the street said they believe Combs will ultimately get a fair trial, even if the same people who witnessed his rise and fall in real time are the ones to decide his fate. "I do think I could do it fairly and impartially, but I also think it takes a special person to do that," said Lapp. "I think that you have to be able to take out your appreciation for someone, and you know, things you might love about them to make a true and honest conviction of what you believe the truth is." In other words, can you separate the man from the art? "Yes exactly," Lapp responded. "I can." And while Combs was recognized by many New Yorkers, his fame was not universal. Sandy, a 82-year-old retiree from Manhattan, told ABC News he would have no issues being a juror against Combs, in part because he has no idea who he is. "I've heard the name," he said. "I don't care."
