Ahead of his Friday (10.03) sentencing, a judge has denied Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs‘ request for a new trial or an acquittal after being found guilty in July of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Ruling that the government “presented overwhelming evidence of Combs’s guilt” during the trial, Judge Arun Subramanian denied all of Combs’ legal team’s requests.
According to his Tuesday (9.30) filing, Subramanian also declared that Combs’ team failed to prove their claim that the fallen musician deserved a new trial because the racketeering and sex trafficking counts prejudiced the jury against him on the prostitution-related charges.
“The government proved its case many times over. That by itself might be enough to dispose of Combs’s challenge.” “Had the prejudice indeed been so great, one would expect a jury to convict on the most relevant counts before it could spill over and infect the others. A new trial is not warranted,” wrote the judge.
The ruling comes shortly after prosecutors filed a memorandum on Monday (9.29) recommending 11 years in prison following the defense team’s previous recommendation of 14 months.
An essential witness during the trial, Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura also submitted a victim impact statement in which she revealed she had moved out of the New York area because she fears retaliation if the musician walks free on Friday.
“I am so scared that if he walks free, his first actions will be swift retribution towards me and others who spoke up about his abuse at trial.” “As much progress as I have made in recovering from his abuse, I remain very much afraid of what he is capable of and the malice he undoubtedly harbors towards me for having the bravery to tell the truth,” stated Ventura.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Mys 721tx