Jury deliberations resume after concluding 1st day without a verdict

USAFeatured7 hours ago4 Views

Jury deliberations resumed Tuesday in the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs. The 12-member panel of eight men and four women met for more than five hours at the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan on Monday without reaching a verdict.

On Tuesday, it sent a note to Judge Arun Subramanian asking to review testimony from Cassie Ventura, Combs’s ex-girlfriend, and a male escort. It was the fifth such note sent to the judge since the jury began deliberating the sex trafficking case.

Federal prosecutors say that for decades, Combs abused, threatened and coerced women to participate in drug-fueled marathon sexual encounters called “freak offs” and used his business empire, along with guns, kidnapping and arson, to control his victims.

The 55-year-old hip-hop mogul is facing five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

The prosecution rested its case after presenting over a month of graphic testimony from nearly three dozen witnesses. The defense rested without calling anyone — including Combs — to the witness stand.

“The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said during last week’s closing arguments. “It’s time to hold him accountable. It’s time for justice. And it’s time to find him guilty.”

Marc Agnifilo, Combs’s lead defense attorney, argued that Combs is a “swinger” and a drug abuser guilty of past domestic violence, but not the “leader of a criminal enterprise” as prosecutors have portrayed him.

“He did not do the things he’s charged with,” Agnifilo told jurors. “He did what he did. But he’s going to fight to the death to defend himself from what he didn’t do.”

Follow the live blog below for the latest updates culled from various reporters and news organizations in the courtroom, including ABC News, CNN, NBC News and the USA Today.

Live28 updates

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