Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial jurors reach partial verdict but deadlocked on racketeering charge
But the verdicts have not been revealed, and the jury is deadlocked on the most serious charge of racketeering conspiracy.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian said he would instruct the jury to continue deliberating.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
43 minutes ago
- News.com.au
50 Cent congratulates rival Diddy for not-guilty verdict on top charges: ‘The Gay John Gotti'
50 Cent was quick to react to the Sean 'Diddy' Combs verdict Wednesday – seemingly hailing the disgraced rapper for beating the feds before quickly dubbing him 'the Gay John Gotti.' 'Diddy beat the Feds that boy a bad man!' the rapper said in an Instagram post alongside a photo of himself grinning and applauding emojis. 50 Cent, who has a longstanding feud with the disgraced music mogul, then compared him to the infamous Mafia boss who was nicknamed 'The Teflon Don' after prosecutors couldn't get charges to stick, The NY Post reports. 'Beat the Rico, he the Gay John Gotti,' the rapper added. The 'In Da Club' hip-hop artist was name-dropped during the trial back in May during shocking testimony that touched on the longstanding feud between the hip-hop legends. Diddy's ex-assistant, Capricorn Clark, had told jurors her boss once implied he might pull a gun on Fitty. 'I don't like all the back and forth … I like guns,' Clark recalled Combs telling his manager after seeing 50 Cent at an MTV event. 50 Cent – who famously took nine bullets during a 2000 shooting in Queens – reacted to the name-drop with mocking faux fear. 'Wait a minute PUFFY's got a gun, I can't believe this I don't feel safe,' the New York City native posted on Instagram after the testimony. 'LOL.' The beef between the pair began nearly 20 years ago after 50 Cent, whose real name Curtis James Jackson III, released a diss track — 'The Bomb' — in 2006 that accused Combs of knowing who killed The Notorious B.I.G. He spent much of the Combs' sex-trafficking trial roasting him over the torrent of graphic evidence and accusations levelled against him. The Bad Boy Records founder was ultimately found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted on two sex-trafficking charges and one racketeering charge. The acquittals on the sex trafficking counts mean he will avoid a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence. He could have faced life in prison if he were convicted on sex trafficking or racketeering conspiracy. Combs now faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence on each of the two prostitution counts.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Tears, prayers, exultation: Diddy radiates relief after partial acquittal
His gaze to the ceiling in exultation and hands miming prayer, Sean Combs appeared overjoyed as the jury foreman cleared the music mogul's name of sweeping charges that took a life-sentence in prison off the table. Combs, 55, was still convicted on two lesser counts related to prostitution, and could serve time. But he and his lawyers hailed the day as a win. Defense attorney Teny Geragos's eyes welled with tears before jurors had even finished reading the full verdict, clutching Combs's hand before embracing her co-attorney Marc Agnifilo. Combs, who has been seen in court reading books including "The Power of Positive Thinking," contained himself as the judge thanked jurors, but his relief was palpable. His lawyer and prosecutors then made competing arguments as to whether he should be released on bond pending his sentencing. When Judge Arun Subramanian rhetorically asked whether or not Combs wants to return to the notorious Brooklyn prison where he has been held since September 2024, he rapidly shook his head. Before retiring to a courthouse holding cell where he will await the judge's final decision on bond, Combs voiced thanks and love to his family members, who've been a routine presence during the two-month long proceedings. The morning's rapid development also saw him softly pump his fists in his lap and mouth thanks to the jury. - 'Disturbing reality' - It was a jubilant scene for a defense team that spent seven weeks picking apart harrowing testimony from women who said Combs abused and forced them into sexual marathons with escorts. The details were often excruciating, as was photo and video evidence of brutal beatings the women testified Combs subjected them to. The defense never denied the violence, or the sex -- encounters that prosecutors said met legal thresholds for crimes including sex trafficking, forced labor and drug distribution. Combs led a criminal organization of loyal employees who helped him carry out those crimes and many others with impunity, government attorneys said. But the defense denied, and even mocked, those allegations. And jurors took their side. It was a major blow for prosecutors, who appeared somber as they left the room while the defense celebrations were ongoing. Outside the courthouse crowds of Combs supporters along with hordes of influencers and content creators -- who've been a constant feature of the proceedings -- amassed to create a circus of sorts, to the point that police barricaded the plaza just outside the building. Many of those celebrating with an air of "told you so" -- and eagerly crowded the courthouse hoping to catch a glimpse of Combs. Lawyers rapidly drafted opposing arguments as to why he should return home or stay incarcerated as he awaits sentencing at a later date. In the meantime, the US Attorney's Office that brought the charges released a serious statement that stood in stark contrast with the chaos outside. "Sex crimes deeply scar victims, and the disturbing reality is that sex crimes are all too present in many aspects of our society," read the statement. "Victims endure gut-wrenching physical and mental abuse, leading to lasting trauma." "Prosecuting sex crimes requires brave victims to come forward and tell their harrowing stories,' they continued. "We and our law enforcement partners recognize the hardships victims endure and have prioritized a victim-centered approach to investigating and prosecuting these cases."
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
Sean 'Diddy' Combs acquitted of sex trafficking, convicted on lesser charge
Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was found not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking on Wednesday but convicted of a less serious prostitution charge after a high-profile seven week trial in New York. The jury, after 13 hours of deliberation over three days, found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Combs, 55, smiled and looked relieved as the verdict was read out. He shook hands with one of his lawyers and said "thank you" to members of the eight-man four-woman jury as they left the courtroom. Judge Arun Subramanian also thanked the jury for their service before dismissing them. "You listened, you worked together, you were here every day, rain or shine," he said. "You did so with no reward, other than the reward that comes from answering the call of public service." The verdict came at the end of a trial in which prosecutors had accused Combs of being the boss of a decades-long criminal group who directed loyal employees and bodyguards to commit myriad offenses at his behest. The alleged crimes included forced labor, drug distribution, kidnapping, bribery, witness tampering and obstruction and arson. To find Combs guilty of racketeering, jurors needed to find the existence of a criminal enterprise and that the organization committed at least two of the offenses. Jurors announced a partial verdict late Tuesday and said they were deadlocked on the racketeering charge but Judge Arun Subramanian instructed them to keep working. Combs, once one of the most powerful figures in the music industry, had vehemently denied all charges. - 'Untouchable' - Jurors began deliberating on Monday after the judge read them nearly three hours of instructions on how to apply the mountain of evidence and testimony in the case to the law. The trial included at-times disturbing testimony along with thousands of pages of phone, financial and audiovisual records. Combs was charged with sex trafficking two women: singer Casandra Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane. Both were in long-term relationships with the entrepreneur and hip hop powerhouse, and they each testified about abuse, threats and coercive sex in wrenching detail. They both said they felt obligated to participate in Combs-directed sexual marathons with hired men. Combs's lawyers insisted the sex was consensual. They conceded domestic violence was a feature of his relationships -- one harrowing example of him beating and dragging Ventura was caught on security footage that has been widely publicized. Yet while disturbing, that did not amount to sex trafficking, the defense said. But prosecutors in their final argument tore into Combs's team, who they said had "contorted the facts endlessly." "In his mind he was untouchable," prosecutor Maurene Comey told the court. "The defendant never thought that the women he abused would have the courage to speak out loud what he had done to them."
