Sex trafficking suspect Sean “Diddy” Combs will not be released on bail, a second judge ruled Wednesday afternoon. His legal team had appealed his pretrial release from “horrific” jail conditions after a judge ruled Tuesday that the music mogul must remain in custody pending trial.
Combs was arrested Monday night on charges stemming from allegations he sexually abused women over the years, federal prosecutors said. A federal grand jury indicted Combs on three felony counts: racketeering, sex trafficking and using transportation to engage in prostitution, court records show.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter said Wednesday that the bail offered by the defense was “inadequate.” He agreed with the government that there was “no condition that would ensure” that Combs would not “obstruct the course of justice” if released.
Combs’ legal team also asked the judge whether he would consider a transfer from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to a facility in Essex County, New Jersey. The judge asked the defense to file a motion on the venue issue by Monday.
The judge set the next hearing on the status of the case for October 9. The defense did not want to agree to hearing the case in October.
“The fight continues,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo told reporters as he left court Wednesday. “We are far from giving up.”
“I’m going to do everything I can to get his case handled as quickly as possible,” he continued. “We’re going to fight this case with all our might until we don’t have to fight anymore.”
There was a deep sigh in court on Wednesday when Combs was denied bail; it was unclear from whom.
His family, consisting of three sons, sat in the second row.
Combs waved to his family and placed his hand over his heart as he entered. He looked at them again as he was led away after the hearing.
Combs barely looked at the prosecutors as they argued their case, staring straight ahead. He occasionally shook his head, but mostly remained stony-faced.
The defense team argued that he fit the profile of a suspect who should not be remanded in custody.
Agnifilo spoke in court Wednesday about Combs’ respect for the court. He pointed to the fact that Combs had surrendered his passport and sold his plane. He added that Combs had flown to New York to await charges and planned to surrender.
Agnifilo said he had presented a bail package that met the “onerous and unusual conditions to address the court’s concerns.”
One of the measures he presented was hiring private security guards to keep an eye on Combs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The company, Sage Security, was said to have surveillance by former law enforcement and surveillance officers who entered Combs’ home. Agnifilo added that Combs had no phone or internet access and that it would be “virtually impossible” to contact witnesses.
The government argued that Combs poses a threat to the community, based on allegations of violent acts detailed in the indictment, and that he is a flight risk because of his immense wealth.
“The defendant’s behavior demonstrates” that the defense team “does not have control over their client,” according to a government memo filed in court Wednesday.
U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson told the court on Wednesday that the “physical and sexual abuse” had been going on for decades and that Combs’ “herculean efforts” to cover it up showed his power.
Johnson said there are no conditions on Combs’ release because “he’s implicating other people.” She added that “there is a tremendous amount of evidence” and that “the defendant should be held pending trial.”
In court, prosecutors said there were “tens of terabytes of data” related to the case, adding that 300 grand jury subpoenas had been issued. Additionally, 20 search warrants were obtained and a “large number of electronic devices,” including more than 100 seized phones, tablets and iCloud accounts, are being processed by the government.
Also discussed during the hearing was a video obtained by CNN that shows Combs attacking his ex-girlfriend Cassie, an attack she described in the lawsuit she filed against him in November.
Carter called the video “quite disturbing,” and Agnifilo responded that Combs had gone to rehab after the incident, as had the other person in the video.
Agnifilo said it was a “heartbreaking relationship in many ways.” The judge asked: “What does love have to do with this?” referring to the kicking and punching seen in the video.
Agnifilo said Combs is not the same person he was then and that “the worst thing he ever did was caught on video.”
Prosecutors highlighted comments made by Judge Robyn Tarnofsky when she denied bail on Tuesday, saying Combs’ history of drug abuse and access to guns pose a danger.
Tarnofsky told Combs that his “prior drug abuse and the fact that the alleged violence seems to go hand in hand with times when you’re not necessarily in control of your actions because of that drug abuse” warrants detention.
“Your lawyer asked me to trust you and him, and I don’t think you can trust yourself,” Tarnofsky said.
Prosecutors said Combs “poses a danger — to victims and others, both through physical violence and obstructive behavior — and that there is a risk of flight” and that he “must be detained.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
