A federal agent, an expert in abuse trauma and a former executive assistant testified on Wednesday in the federal trial of racketeering and sex trafficking of Sean “Diddy”.
The agent and the assistant have given additional testimonies on the possession of the drugs of Combres, while the medical psychologist spoke in general terms of the way in which victims of abuse tend to behave. The assistant, George Kaplan, should resume testimony on Thursday morning.
Scott Mescudi, the musician known as Kid Cudi, and four other witnesses should also testify on Thursday. Cassie Ventura, ex-girlfriend of Combs, said last week that Combs had threatened her and Mescudi after learning that they were coming out together.
The accusation has argued combs and some in his inner circle used threats, violence, drugs, corruption, criminal fire, kidnapping and lies to force Cassie Ventura and another woman to participate in sexual parties that he called “Freak Offs” and to protect the reputation of Mogul’s music.
The defense admitted that Combs was violent with romantic partners and during openings, said that he had “a little different sex life”. They also declared that although Combs was “a very imperfect individual”, he did not commit the alleged federal crimes.
Combs pleaded not guilty of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transport to engage in prostitution. If he is found guilty of the most serious accusations, he could face life prison.
Here is what we learned in Wednesday’s testimony.
Federal investigators found pills and drug residues when they searched Combs’ home in Miami Beach last March, including in a box decorated with a golden plate bearing “inflated”, said a federal agent on Wednesday.
Gerard Gannon, a special agent with internal security surveys, said that a Gucci bag found in a closet contained an assortment of pills, white powder, a “substance similar to a crystalline rock”, a plastic straw, a $ 100 note and other items.
Powder, straw residues and $ 100 ticket residues have been tested positive for cocaine and ketamine, according to a stipulation read in court. According to the stipulation, a bottle of eye drops found inside the bag was positive for MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, and ketamine. According to stipulation.
The jury saw photos of drugs and the “inflated” box, which contained the MDMA and the capsules containing psilocybin, the active ingredient of psychedelic fungi, according to stipulation. The jury has also seen photos of boxes filled with bottles of baby oil and astroglid lubricant in a cupboard at home. Twenty-five bottles of baby oil and 31 bottles of lubricant were found in this closet, said Gannon.
Gannon said that a handgun of .45 charged had been recovered in a suitcase found in a room he called the “guard cabin” in the property guest house. On the stand of witnesses, Gannon held a bag of evidence that contained bullets recovered in the firearm.
Gannon began his testimony on Tuesday and said that investigators had found AR-15 firearms with striped standard numbers and two loaded magazines, as well as sex toys, baby oil and lubricant.
In return, Gannon confirmed that AR-15 firearms have been dismantled and not loaded.
Dawn Hughes, a clinical and medico-legal psychologist, testified in general terms on the behavior of people victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and traumatic stress when the accusation sought to provide the jury with a broader understanding of last week in Ventura.
Hughes testified that she had not evaluated any victim or witness in this case, and she did not question anyone linked to the case. She said that she had seen media coverage of the case, but not what was going on in court.
Hughes has testified that it is very common that the victims remain in abusive relations and have declared that the authors often use several abusive methods in addition to physical violence to ensure that the victims feel trapped.
“This is the power and control that the attacker has about the victim,” she said.
The financial dependence of a victim with regard to an attacker plays a very important role in a victim staying in an abusive situation, she said. In addition, sexual abuses can make it difficult for a victim to ask for help to leave an abusive relationship, she explained.
“They feel a lot of shame, humiliation, degradation,” said Hughes. “They don’t want to talk about it, they don’t even want to think about it in their own brain.”
Hughes, who told court that she was paid $ 600 an hour for her work and $ 6,000 for a day of testimony, was an expert witness in several other high -level racketeering and sex traffic trials, including the founder of Nxivm, Keith Raniere and singer R. Kelly.
In counter-examination, she said that she had never testified in the defense of a man accused of a sexual crime. “I do not assess offenders,” she said.
Before testifying and without the present jury, George Kaplan, a former executive assistant in Combs, invoked his right to the fifth amendment not to testify due to potential self-incrimination.
Judge Arun Subramanian then signed an immunity order which forced Kaplan to testify.
David James, another of the former executive assistants in Combs, was questioned on Tuesday on a counter-examination if he obtained immunity for his testimony. He said he was not sure of the details, but thought he had signed a “uttering agreement”.
In general, an agreement to profer is the one in which prosecutors should not continue someone for what they say.
Once the jury is present, Kaplan said that he had started working at Combs Enterprises in 2013 as an executive assistant to the operating director, and about 10 months later, he was promoted to the Combs executive assistant.
He said he was usually working 80 to 100 hours a week and was paid around $ 125,000.
Combs threatened Kaplan’s work almost monthly, he said. During his first week of work for Combs, he assigned Kaplan to buy a bottle of BPA water from a Gallon to Whole Foods. The store did not, so Kaplan brought back two bottles of half (half-nod, and Combres told him angry that he had not brought him what he had asked.
“He was very close to my face,” said Kaplan about the incident.
Kaplan was in daily communication with combs. They sent SMS, would call and send an email to things that the combs needed, including “clothes or potentially food on somewhere, drugs or alcohol or an iPad or speaker,” he said.
Installation and cleaning of hotel rooms
Kaplan said he would travel with combs to make sure that his accommodation and hotel rooms were “installed correctly”.
The first time Kaplan was responsible for setting up a hotel room for Combs, he received a bag and said he said, he said. The bag had clothes, a speaker, candles, alcohol, baby oil and astroglid, said Kaplan. After this first time, he said that he would often buy the same supplies with his business credit card.
He said that his understanding was that the Combs would have guests or a partner to join him in hotel rooms.
Kaplan testified that after Combs left a hotel room, he was going to enter and pack the personal effects of Combs and Ranger. As a rule, there would be Gatorade bottles, alcohol bottles and baby oil scattered in a hotel room after the combs, said Kaplan. On an occasion, he cleaned a “brown crystallized powder” on a counter, although he said that he did not know what it was.
When he was asked why he had not let the hotel staff clean, Kaplan said he had understood part of his role to protect the image of Combres.
“Protecting it and protecting its public image was very important and it was something I wanted to do,” he said.
On a few times, Combs asked Kaplan to bring him drugs, he said. The twice, Combs gave Kaplan Cash and a number to call, then Kaplan arranged to take the medication, he said.
Kaplan’s testimony will continue on Thursday morning.
