Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs newest: Rapper denied bail in intercourse trafficking, racketeering case
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Accusers of Sean “Diddy” Combs have spoken after the music mogul was indicted and accused of running a decades-long “criminal enterprise” that forced women into sex acts “to fulfill his sexual desires”.
The rapper appeared in a New York federal court in New York on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
After, his accusers spoke out. Natania Reuben, who claims Combs shot her in the face during a 1999 nightclub shooting, told The Daily Beast it was “one of the best days ever”.
Combs was acquitted on those charges, but Reuben claims he evaded justice.
Lawyers for Combs asked a magistrate judge to allow the rapper to remain on house arrest but the judge ordered the rapper be jailed at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn until trial.
Combs is expected to appear in court again today where his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, will attempt to appeal the decision.
Agnifilo said Combs was “an innocent man with nothing to hide.”
Diddy was hit with three civil lawsuits in November
Back in November, Combs was hit with three separate lawsuits filled with allegations of sexual and physical abuse, in just one week – a startling occurrence that would open a floodgate of other allegations and investigations.
Here’s a look back at that.
Sheila Flynn reported:
How P Diddy came to face three sexual assault accusations in a week
Sean Combs, formerly known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and a host of other names, has undergone a myriad of reinventions since the start of his career – but now, with three sex assault lawsuits filed against him in a week, he’s entered a new and unwelcome ‘era.’ Sheila Flynn reports
What authorities found at Combs’s home
Tuesday’s indictment has revealed some of what authorities recovered in the raids on Combs’s home back in March.
Authorities found narcotics, three AR-15s with “defaced serial numbers,” ammunition, a drum magazine and evidence aligning with the “freak offs” detailed in the indictment.
They also recovered “more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant”.
Following the singer’s arrest in New York on Monday, his home in LA was sealed off.
Reminder of the charges against Combs
Here’s a reminder of the charges Combs faces.
According to a three-count criminal indictment unsealed on Tuesday, Combs ran a decades-long criminal enterprise that aided him in egregiously abusing women through sex crimes, physical violence and emotional manipulation, federal prosecutors said.
On Tuesday morning he appeared in Manhattan federal court to plead not guilty to the charges.
Today is he expected to appear in court to appeal the decision to deny him bail.
Prosecution alleges there are more than 50 victims
The prosecution alleges there are more than 50 potential victims in relation to the charges against Combs.
In a memo supporting the request Combs remain in jail until trial, the prosecution said the government has conducted interviews with “over 50 victims and witnesses, many of whom saw or experienced the defendant’s abuse”.
The total number of alleged victims is unclear, but the memo added the prosecution “only expects that number to continue to grow”.
Combs ‘anticipated’ charges were being brought against him
Combs, who was arrested on Monday night at a hotel in Manhattan, knew the charges were coming.
His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said the rapper travelled to New York last week in anticipation of the charges being brought.
“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo added.
Combs being held in prison where Ghislaine Maxwell and R Kelly were once housed
More details about the conditions inside the Metropolitan Detention Center are being reported as Combs is being held there in pretrial detention.
Many have spoken out about the “barbaric” conditions inside the prison, with one inmate claiming the jail sees stabbings “at least a couple of times a week.”
“One guy was stabbed in the eye with a makeshift knife,” the inmate, only named as Eli, told NY1.
“And these knives, again, I have never been to jail. This is my first time in jail, but these knives are six, nine inches long sometimes, you know, homemade with materials from the steel walls. It’s very violent. There’s stabbings, there’s stabbings at least a couple times a week.”
Read more here.
What will happen in court today?
Combs is due to appear in court again today at approximately 3.30pm ET.
He is appealing the decision to be held without bail in front of US District Court Judge Andrew Carter.
If the appeal is denied, Combs will be remanded back to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and could remain there until trial.
His laywers yesterday requested he remain under house arrest, which was denied.
50 Cent mocks Combs after 1,000 bottles of lube seized
The rapper was responding to details released by the FBI – that searches of Combs’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles led to officers seizing “more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.”
In a post on Instagram, 50 Cent captioned a photograph of himself during a recent appearance on Drew Barrymore’s talk show with the message: “Here I am keeping good company with @thedrewbarrymoreshow and I don’t have 1,000 bottles of lube at the house.”
Kevin E G Perry reports.
Inside notorious prison where Combs is being held
Combs is currently being held in the Special Housing Unit of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
The notorious prison has also housed Ghislaine Maxwell, R Kelly and Billy McFarland to name a few.
It has been plagued by outbreaks of violence, unsanitary conditions and chronic understaffing, according to reports.
The rapper is reportedly being kept away from other prisoners at the moment.
WATCH: Diddy’s lawyer says he is ‘a fighter and not afraid of charges’ after bail refused
Source: independent.co.uk
