Sean “Diddy” Combs can forget about leaving the notorious Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, where he has been since his September arrest on sex trafficking and RICO charges Stay there.
On Wednesday (November 27), Judge Arun Subramanian denied Combs’ team’s motion for release. He made the decision after a two-hour court hearing on Friday (November 22).
“The court finds that the government has shown by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably ensure the safety of the community,” the judge wrote in a five-page order.
Prosecutors insist that the video of Combs assaulting Cassie Ventura at Los Angeles’ Intercontinental Hotel eight years ago is evidence of sex trafficking.
However, lawyers for the disgraced tycoon claim the government submitted a doctored video that omitted key scenes and presented a grossly disorganized version of events.
“He admitted it and apologized for it. This happened in the middle of a frenzy. The United States has evidence that there was a male commercial sex worker in the hotel room at the time,” prosecutors told the judge.
Prosecutors also allege Combs used other inmates’ phone access, communicated with multiple people using “unauthorized third-party messaging services” and used his children to host a “social media event” for his recent birthday.
Combs’ attorney acknowledged the use of the PAC but said he had no choice due to dire conditions at the MDC. They also argued that the Fed failed to prove their claims of witness tampering. His lawyers maintain that any contact with witnesses was innocent and consistent with his right to participate in the defense by developing potential defense witnesses.
“Some of these recordings show him telling people, to be honest, talking to my attorney,” Didi’s attorney, Mark Agnifilo, told the judge.
Koum’s attorneys also pointed to the case of Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries and the fact that he was released on $10 million bail. Jeffries was charged with 16 counts of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution. He is also accused of using force, fraud and coercion in human trafficking while operating a prostitution enterprise.
“The charges in the Jeffreys Abercrombie case are more serious than they are here,” Combs’ attorney, Alexandra AE Shapiro, told the judge. “They were accused of running an international sex trafficking business. They were raped and forced to have sex.
Prosecutors noted the similarities but also noted key differences: Jeffries’ obstructionist conduct stopped in 2015, while Diddy’s conduct continued into 2024. , and Coombs’ criminal record dates back more than two decades.
Judge Subramanian ultimately sided with prosecutors and sent Coombs back to the MDC cell.
Combs initially requested a hefty bail of $50 million. He offered to live alone in his Florida home, with a 24/7 security team monitoring a pre-approved guest list.
Prosecutors shot down the security team because the security team and investigators “had been contacting witnesses. Essentially, they were working for him. That would be the defendant’s way.”
Combs also said he would give up his cell phone and the Internet and, in the words of his attorney, Mark Agnifilo, “do nothing but prepare for trial.”
However, Justice Subramanian upheld the earlier ruling and said “no condition or combination of conditions can ensure that he will not obstruct justice or tamper with witnesses”.
Combs was charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering, forcible sex trafficking, fraud or coercion and transportation for prostitution.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial is scheduled to begin in May 2025.
