The federal intercourse trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs resumes Tuesday after a four-day break for the vacation weekend.
Prosecutors say they’ll name Capricorn Clark, who was an assistant to Combs and a member of his advertising workforce. They stated in addition they count on to name witnesses from the Los Angeles police and fireplace departments.
The trial resumption follows explosive testimony final week, as rapper Child Cudi took the stand.
That got here after Combs’ former assistant completed his testimony, for which he had been granted immunity. Three others additionally testified, together with a make-up artist, a resort supervisor and a federal agent.
This is a recap of the latest testimony forward of Tuesday’s developments:
Who was final to testify?
Former private assistant
The primary individual on the witness stand Thursday was George Kaplan, the previous assistant to Combs, who was persevering with his testimony that started Wednesday. He had beforehand been given immunity, after telling the Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday that he would invoke his Fifth Modification proper in opposition to self-incrimination.
Kaplan mentioned trying the opposite means after seeing Combs’ then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, crushed and bruised. He stated he did the identical factor when he noticed Combs angrily throw apples at his different girlfriend, Gina.
Kaplan testified that he witnessed Combs be violent with Cassie solely as soon as, on a visit to Las Vegas aboard the rap promoter’s non-public jet within the second half of 2015 when he heard glass breaking behind him. He stated he appeared over his shoulder and noticed Combs standing with a whiskey glass in his hand.
“There was tremendous commotion and a scuffle and then after the glass crashed, Cassie screamed: ‘Isn’t anybody seeing this?” he stated on the stand.
Kaplan testified that neither he nor any of the safety staff or Unhealthy Boy administration workers on the aircraft did something to answer Cassie’s name for assist. A prosecutor requested why he did not step in to assist the ladies.
“I wished it wasn’t happening, and standing in the way of that, was not my way to succeed,” Kaplan stated, including that he didn’t reply to Cassie’s name for assist as a result of he was in his dream job and didn’t need to wreck it and “couldn’t believe my good fortune to be working for such an icon.”
Requested if anybody on the aircraft went to examine on Cassie, he stated no.
Kaplan testified that he finally grew fed up with the violence, and stop.
“I was unwilling to stand by the behavior,” stated Kaplan.
He stated he advised Combs that he needed to stop as a result of his father had been identified with prostate most cancers. Even so, he stated he nonetheless credit Combs for instructing him a piece ethic that has helped him achieve success in jobs since then. To some extent, the sensation may be mutual: When Kaplan first entered the courtroom on Wednesday, Combs smiled.
Kaplan advised jurors that his tenure with Combs has “proven to be one of the most complicated pieces of my life.”
“I’m a young man and this is a God among men talking to me,” stated Kaplan, who served as an assistant for Combs and his Combs Enterprises firm from 2013 to 2015.
“He not only pushed me to my depth he pushed me to depths I didn’t even know I had,” Kaplan stated, explaining he “never worked harder in my life.”
Kaplan advised jurors that he “desperately did not want to come here today” however that he was pressured to testify as a result of federal prosecutors had subpoenaed him. He stated he did not have something in opposition to Combs.
A federal agent testified Wednesday about weapons, medication and intercourse provides discovered within the dwelling of Sean “Diddy” Combs in Miami throughout a raid. On Thursday, rapper Child Cudi is ready to take the stand in Combs’ intercourse trafficking trial, the place he’s anticipated to testify about his automotive being firebombed after he briefly dated Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. NBC New York’s Erica Byfield studies.
Child Cudi
Child Cudi, whose actual identify is Scott Mescudi, took the witness stand round 10:45 a.m. He took his alternative to degree some severe accusations in opposition to Combs, pinning a house break-in and a automotive fire-bombing on the leisure icon.
Cudi recommended that Combs got here after him after studying he had began seeing Cassie. The 2 first met in 2008, recorded some music collectively and dated in 2011. Cudi stated he was conscious Cassie had been concerned with Combs across the time they dated.
He testified that Combs entered his dwelling with out permission in Dec. 2011. Cudi was not dwelling on the time, however stated that as quickly as he heard about, he instantly referred to as Combs.
Cudi stated he had gone to a West Hollywood resort with Cassie to get her away from the seething Combs when he bought a name from Combs’ assistant, Capricorn Clark. He stated she advised him “Sean Combs and an affiliate were in my house and she was in a car and she was forced to go with them over there.”
So Cudi stated he bought into Porsche 911 convertible and drove there, calling Combs alongside the way in which. Utilizing an expletive, he requested Combs why he was in the home. He stated Combs calmly replied, “I want to talk to you.”
Cudi stated he advised Combs he was on his strategy to the home, to which Combs stated: “I’m over here waiting for you.”
However, Cudi stated, Combs wasn’t there when he arrived. As an alternative, he stated, he discovered Christmas presents he’d bought for his household had been opened and his canine was locked up in a rest room.
Cudi stated he bought again into his automotive and referred to as Combs once more, asking him the place he was.
He stated, “I’m on my way, I’m on my way,” Cudi testified.
Cudi stated he wasn’t positive what was happening, so he determined to name the police.
A couple of month later, Cudi stated somebody torched his Porsche that was sitting in his driveway, with a Molotov cocktail tossed inside. The jury noticed images of the slashed material roof, wiped out driver’s aspect, and injury brought on by the hearth and smoke.
When requested by a prosecutor what his response was to his automotive getting torched, Cudi stated “What the [expletive]?” He then testified that “after the fire, I was like, this is getting out of hand, I need to talk to him.” Cudi stated he didn’t have conflicts on the time with anybody apart from Combs.
Ultimately agreeing to a face-to-face assembly with Combs and Cassie in Los Angeles, Cudi stated that when he walked in, “Combs was looking out the window with his hands behind his back looking like a Marvel super villain.”
Regardless of the motion film posture, Combs remained oddly calm all through the one-on-one assembly, Cudi stated, and even provided him water on a few events. They finally stood and shook fingers, earlier than Cudi stated he requested Combs: “What are we going to do about my car?”
Cudi stated Combs gave him a “very cold stare” and responded: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Cudi was miffed. He determined to let it go, however recalled Combs noticing his hesitation. “I thought we were cool, is there a problem?” Combs requested.
Cudi stated he advised Combs he would take him at his phrase, and he finally made peace with the scenario. After that, there have been no extra break-ins at his home and no extra bother along with his automotive.
Combs ended up apologizing a couple of years later, after they bumped into one another once more on the SoHo Home resort, Cudi testified.
Cudi stated Combs, there along with his daughter, pulled him apart and stated: “Man, I just was to apologize for everything and all that (expletive).”
“After the apology, I found peace with it,” Cudi testified.
Questioned concerning the break-in by protection lawyer Brian Metal, Cudi acknowledged that he had left the door to his dwelling unlocked and that there was no injury to the construction.
Cudi left the courtroom with out trying within the course of Combs.
Cassie Ventura took the stand for the fourth and ultimate day on Could 16 to testify in ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs’ intercourse trafficking trial. NBC Information leisure correspondent Chloe Melas, who was contained in the courtroom, shares with Entry Hollywood how the jury heard a special aspect of Ventura because the protection introduced audio proof of the singer screaming at a male acquaintance who she thought had a video of her taking part in a “freak-off” with Combs.
Make-up artist
A make-up artist who helped coated Cassie’s accidents after alleged beating by combs additionally testified on Thursday. Mylah Morales testified that she noticed accidents on Cassie’s face solely as soon as whereas doing make-up for her between 2007 and 2021.
She stated it occurred in 2010 throughout Grammys weekend after Combs stormed into Cassie’s bed room at a resort and she or he heard “yelling and screaming.” After an offended Combs left the room, Morales stated, she went in and noticed Cassie.
“She had a swollen eye and a busted lip and knots on her head,” she stated.
When Morales noticed that, she instantly packed up her issues and bought her out of the resort, she stated. Morales stated her physician pal checked Cassie out the following day and advisable she go to the emergency room, however Cassie didn’t go.
Lodge supervisor
Frédéric Zemmour testified that Combs regularly stayed on the L’Ermitage Beverly Hills utilizing aliases similar to Frank White and Frank Black — names Cassie stated he used when checking in for “freak-off” sexual encounters.
Zemmour stated Combs’ visitor profile famous that he “ALWAYS spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil.” The profile instructed workers to “place the room out of order upon departure for deep cleaning.”
“Please authorize an extra $1000 when guest stays with us to cover any room damages,” Combs’ visitor profile stated.
Prosecutors highlighted a number of complaints about Combs’ stays within the resort’s inside recordsdata, together with one from January 2010 through which the housekeeping workers stated it noticed “large deposits of candle wax on carpets in living room area, and on the night stands in bedroom area.” Combs was charged $500 for the injury.
Laptop computer skilled
A federal agent additionally testified about extracting information from Cassie’s laptop computer computer systems.
