Former assistant Brendan Paul to testify

A panicked Combs called and texted Ventura to come back, in the wake of his videotaped beating of her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016, phone records admitted into evidence show.

Combs told Ventura that officers were on their way to arrest him, though that was not the case, as no one called police to the InterContinental Hotel on March 5, nine years ago.

“I am about to be arrested,” he texted Ventura before calling her five times in 22 minutes with no answers.

According to receipts shown through Special Agent Penland, hotels charged Combs’ businesses thousands of dollars for damage to their rooms after his traveling party checked out.

The Beverly Hills Hotel billed Combs $500 for damage to drapes and carpets, and the Hermitage Hotel $950 for deep cleaning.

But the most eye-popping big ticket bill shown today came from the Intercontinental Hotel, which charged Combs $46,786 for penthouse damage Oct. 5, 2012.

A sex worker’s round-trip travel from Los Angeles to New York in August 2009 appears to have been paid for by Combs, according to Penland’s testimony.

Prosecutor Emily Johnson had Penland testify to records showing Jules Theodore’s travel, including flights and hotel, paid for by an American Express card. Penland testified that it was Combs’ credit card, and those charges were included in his September 2009 card payment.

Ventura previously testified that Theodore was an escort she and Combs often employed to have sex with her during “freak offs” early in their relationship.

DeLeassa Penland, a special agent with the U.S. attorney’s office, has returned to the witness stand this morning.

Penland did not work on the Combs investigation but reviewed evidence in the case that she testified about yesterday. She went into travel records for Combs, Cassie Ventura, and at least one sex worker, the former couple frequently employed.

This testimony appears to bolster the government’s case for the transportation to engage in prostitution charges levied against Combs.

Brendan Paul, who worked for Combs, took the stand to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination before taking the stand later today.

He was granted an immunity order, which requires him to tell the truth to protect himself from prosecution.

Yesterday, defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro asked the judge what he told the other jurors about why Juror No. 6 was suddenly gone and off the panel.

Subramanian said the other jurors were told that Juror No. 6 was excused. They were also told not to discuss the case or the issue among themselves.

The issue with Juror No. 7 will be dealt with after court today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey revealed the government will likely rest its case against Combs tomorrow, but it could go into Friday morning.

Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo said the defense would present its case in two to five days of trial, but the timing is not set in stone.

A jury charge could come next week, Judge Subramanian said.

Court opened this morning with Subramanian asking the prosecution and defense about an online article that appeared to include details from a sealed proceeding. 

Subramanian was livid and asked both sides if they knew the article’s source. He said, “Someone is lying … the transcript was sealed.”

“One or more people who were here Friday in this courtroom flagrantly violated this court’s orders, a violation of the court’s sealing order, but it wasn’t just that,” he said.

“The court imposed a gag order on the government, the defendant, all attorneys for the defense, and anyone involved was made accountable,” he continued. “Violation of the order … what happened here … may result in civil or criminal contempt charges for all involved.”

The judge warned Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey and lead defense counsel Marc Agnifilo: “There is no passing the buck anymore, the buck stops with you. If anything happens, lead counsel is responsible.”

Court is now in session, marking Day 25 of Combs’ trial.

Yesterday, jurors were shown videos of “freak offs” mentioned in testimony for the first time.

The videos, which involved Combs, his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, and sex workers at a New York City hotel, were from 2012 and 2014 and were shown in short clips. Some jurors reacted visibly to the graphic tapes.

The video was shown only to jurors and not to the gallery or the media.

Yesterday in court, Ananya Sankar, a paralegal for the U.S. attorney’s office, reviewed the case’s texts and call logs. Texts showed that Combs’ employees joked about how the music mogul hired male escorts for drug-fueled “freak offs.” Combs also asked employees to pick up illegal drugs such as “15 pills of Molly,” the texts showed. 

DeLeassa Penland, U.S. attorney’s office special agent, spoke about the Combs investigation’s charts and the data she reviewed. Penland reviewed flight records belonging to Jules Theodore, an escort frequently hired to engage in freak offs with Combs and Ventura. Questioning over the flight and hotel arrangements appear to support the transportation to engage in prostitution charges Combs faces. 

When Judge Arun Subramanian left the bench yesterday afternoon, the fate of another juror, who might have spoken improperly about the case with a former colleague, remained unresolved.

Earlier yesterday, the court said a second juror might have acted improperly and that his fate would be decided after testimony. But when Subramanian sent jurors home, this issue wasn’t addressed.

Subramanian had dismissed a juror earlier in the day for giving conflicting answers about where he lives. That juror, a 41-year-old Black man, might live in New Jersey and outside the bounds of the Southern District of New York.

U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Agent DeLeassa Penland is set to continue her testimony today. While she did not work directly on this case, Penland was tasked with reviewing the Combs investigation’s charts and data. 

Brendan Paul, one of Combs’ former personal assistants, and two summary witnesses, are also expected to testify.