NEW YORK – Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail by a second judge on Wednesday ruling after the hip-hop star and music mogul pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transporting individuals for prostitution in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter handed down the ruling after prosecutors and defense lawyers presented strenuous arguments for and against a $50 million bail package that would allow Combs to be released to home detention with GPS monitoring and strict limitations on who could visit him.
Combs’ defense attorney Marc Agnifilo argued in a letter to the court on Wednesday, ahead of an afternoon hearing, that Combs is “eminently trustworthy” and should be granted release on a $50 million bond.
He offered his Miami Beach mansion as collateral but the offer was also denied.
Read the letter below.
The bond would have been co-signed by Combs, his mother, sister, three adult sons and the mothers of two of his daughters, and secured by his $48 million home on Miami Beach’s exclusive Star Island, according to ABC News.
The defense also suggested restrictions on travel, female visitors, and home detention as part of the release conditions
A law enforcement official confirmed to CNN that Combs will remain in solitary confinement at the Special Housing Unit of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Combs also requested a judge reconsider granting him bail after being placed in what he described as “horrific” jail conditions while in court Wednesday.
Agnifilo objected to the prosecution’s comparisons of Combs to sex offenders like R. Kelly, Keith Raniere and Ghislaine Maxwell, who were all held at MDC-Brooklyn, where Combs is currently detained.
Manhattan federal Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky issued the decision Tuesday afternoon following a nearly two-hour hearing, during which prosecutors and Combs’ attorney debated whether he should remain in custody until his trial.
Combs appeared in court Tuesday on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges that accuse him of hitting and abusing women for over a decade and presiding over an empire of sexual crimes.
The music mogul “engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals,” according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Authorities said they have seized ammunition, several guns, computers, videos and around 1,000 bottles of lubricants during raids on Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach earlier this year. The seizures are part of a months-long investigation into sex trafficking and alleged abuse.
Combs’ former assistant, Suzi Siegel, shared her relief after Tarnofsky denied a $50 million bond proposal for the music mogul, saying, “I feel that justice has been served.”
“No matter what island you can slink off to, or no matter who you can pay off, it’s not working this time, and justice is actually being served,” Siegel said. “It took a while, but it is being served.”
Former federal prosecutor David Weinstein told Local 10 News he wasn’t surprised by the judge’s decision to deny bond.
“There could be additional people or charges involved, as those who conspired with or facilitated the criminal activity are being looked at,” he said.
6 p.m. report:
Prosecutors accuse Combs, 54, of exploiting women and others for years, coordinating “freak-off” sex events that were often recorded without consent. The investigation culminated in Combs’ arrest on Monday night.
In a statement, prosecutors said, “Combs allegedly planned and controlled these performances, which sometimes lasted days and involved narcotics like ketamine, ecstasy and GHB.” They also claim he used weapons to intimidate victims and witnesses, resorting to violence when things didn’t go his way.
Diddy’s lawyers have denied the charges, stating, “He’s going to plead not guilty and will fight this with all his energy.” They responded fiercely after the indictment was unsealed, pushing back on the allegations.
Prosecutors continue to build their case, alleging that Combs used drugs to keep participants compliant during the freak-off events, which they claim happened frequently.
Detailing allegations dating to 2009, the indictment accuses him of abusing, threatening and coercing women for years “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ attorney, said the music star turned himself in at a time agreed upon with the U.S. Attorney’s Office but was arrested on Monday night.
Agnifilo spoke to Local 10 News after a federal indictment against Combs was unsealed.
“His spirits are good, he’s confident,” Agnifilo said. “He’s facing this head-on, just as he has with every challenge in his life. And he’s not guilty. He’s innocent of these charges.”
According to prosecutors, Combs also allegedly abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his behavior.
They claim he lured female victims under the guise of romantic relationships before using force to compel them to engage in sex acts with male commercial sex workers at the freak-off sex events.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Agnifilo said in a statement Tuesday. “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal.”
“They were looking for electronic evidence,” ABC News’ Aaron Katersky said regarding authorities’ decision to raid Combs’ homes. “According to many of the plaintiffs, he kept extensive records, including video, and was recording with his phone while these events were happening.”
Over the past year, Combs has been sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse. He has denied many of those allegations.
Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse Tuesday morning that Combs would plead not guilty and that he would “fight like hell” to try to get his client released from custody.
The indictment also accuses Combs of striking, punching and dragging women on numerous occasions, throwing objects and kicking them — and enlisting his personal assistants, security and household staff to help hide it all.
The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal enterprise engaged in or attempting to engage in activities including sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice. The number of victims is unclear.
Combs, 54, was recognized as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations that emerged over the past year turned him into an industry pariah.
In November, his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit saying he had beaten and raped her for years. She accused Combs of coercing her, and others, into unwanted sex in drug-fueled settings.
The suit was settled in one day but months later CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her on the floor. After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, “I hit rock bottom, but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.”
Combs and his attorneys, however, denied similar allegations made by others in a string of lawsuits.
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Cassie, said in a statement Tuesday that “neither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment.”
“We appreciate your understanding and if that changes, we will certainly let you know,” he added.
A woman said Combs raped her two decades ago when she was 17. A music producer sued, saying Combs forced him to have sex with prostitutes. Another woman, April Lampros, said Combs subjected her to “terrifying sexual encounters,” starting when she was a college student in 1994.
The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie and Lampros did.
Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has gotten out of legal trouble before.
In 2001, he was acquitted of charges related to a Manhattan nightclub shooting two years earlier that injured three people. His then-protege, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges and served about eight years in prison.
If convicted, Combs faces up to life in prison.
Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz in New York and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.