Jury in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Case Reaches Verdict on Four of Five Counts but Is Hung on Key ‘Racketeering’ Charge: Judge Orders Them To Keep Deliberating

A partial verdict was reached in the sex-trafficking trial of the rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs on Tuesday afternoon. The jury unanimously agreed on counts two, three, four, and five but could not agree on a verdict for count one, the racketeering conspiracy charge. The judge instructed them to keep deliberating and the jury’s findings on the agreed-upon counts will remain confidential. At 4:05 p.m. the jury sent a note saying that it had reached verdicts for the two counts of sex trafficking and the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, but that there were “jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides” with respect to the racketeering conspiracy. Before the note was brought into the courtroom, Mr. Combs sat in his chair at the defense table, his head lowered, his hands folded on his lap. His defense attorneys were gathered around him in a semi-circle. At one point Mr. Combs rubbed his eyes, as if he were crying. Finally, the lead defense attorney, Marc Agnifilo, handed Mr. Combs the note. Mr. Combs read it and passed the note to Xavier Donaldson, who was standing on the side of the table. Mr. Donaldson then passed the note to another defense attorney, Nicole Westermoreland.Quincy Brown, son of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’, walks out during a recess in Comb’s sex-trafficking and racketeering trial on July 1, 2025, in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesWhen all of the defense attorneys had read the note and passed it back to the lead prosecutor, an assistant United States attorney, Maurene Comey, the daughter of a former FBI director, James Comey, the judge returned to the bench.After reading the note, the presiding judge, Arun Subramanian, asked the parties how they wanted to proceed. Ms. Comey said her team was working on language to give the jury a “modified” Allen charge, a supplemental jury instruction given when a jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict, or is “hung.” The charge encourages jurors to reconsider their positions and try to reach an agreement, but not at the expense of their conscientiously held beliefs.But defense attorneys disagreed. Mr. Agnifilo said that it was “too early” for a modified Allen charge, since the jury had begun deliberations only on Monday. Janice Combs, mother of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, and King Combs walk out during a recess in Comb’s sex-trafficking and racketeering trial on July 1, 2025, in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images“We do not take a partial verdict,” Mr. Agnifilo said. “I don’t think we are at the point for a modified Allen charge.” The judge decided that simply telling the jury to keep deliberating would be “non-responsive” But Mr. Agnifilo insisted that the jury had been efficient in the last two days. “They are remarkably efficient,” the attorney said, “they have four verdicts.” The judge ultimately decided to tell them to keep deliberating and then cited his own jury instructions. He called the jury into the courtroom, and told them, “I received your note that you have reached verdicts on count two through five but not on count one. I ask at this time that you keep deliberating.” Marc Agnifilo, defense attorney for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, arrives at court on July 1, 2025, in New York. AP/Yuki IwamuraThe jury then exited the courtroom, and a few minutes later sent another note back that they were done with deliberations for the day and would continue tomorrow at 9 a.m. The high-profile trial of the music producer and onetime billionaire, which is taking place at a Lower Manhattan federal district court, began with jury selection on May 5.Mr. Combs faces a five-count indictment. The first count, the one the jury cannot agree on, is racketeering conspiracy, which is based on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which was passed by Congress in 1970 to facilitate the prosecution of organized criminal organizations such as the mafia. Under the RICO charge, the jury must find that the defendant led a “criminal enterprise” and is guilty of committing two racketeering acts. Prosecutors have charged Mr. Combs with eight such acts, including bribery, arson, kidnapping, possession with the intent to distribute drugs, and others. Cassie Ventura and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs appear at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating ‘China: Through the Looking Glass’ on May 4, 2015. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, fileCounts two and four are sex-trafficking charges, count two in respect to Mr. Combs’s former longtime, on-and-off again girlfriend, Cassandra Ventura, whom the rapper dated between 2007 and 2018, and count four relates to another girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym Jane and dated the rapper between 2021 and 2024. Counts three and five charge Mr. Combs with transportation across state lines for the purposes of prostitution, in respect to Ms. Ventura (count three) and in respect to Jane (count five). Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Combs manipulated these two women (and others) by using force, threats of force, fraud, and coercion into having sex with male prostitutes during drug-fueled, hours-long sex sessions he called “Freak Offs,” while he watched and pleasured himself. Mr. Combs, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, denied the allegations and insisted that the sexual encounters were all consensual. His defense attorneys argued that Mr. Combs led the lifestyle of a “swinger” and that the women made adult decisions to participate in the Freak Offs.Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, far left, and attorney Marc Agnifilo, right, sit at the defense table during witness testimony in Manhattan federal court, May 13, 2025. Elizabeth Williams via APProsecutors disagreed. A single incident, they said, when one of the women indicated that she did not want to participate in a Freak Off and was forced to do it anyway would qualify to find Mr. Combs guilty of the sex trafficking charge. As one of several examples, the prosecutors cited the now infamous incident at the InterContinental hotel at Los Angeles, which was caught on surveillance cameras and aired by CNN last year. The video shows Mr. Combs kicking and dragging Ms. Ventura through the hallway of the hotel. The prosecutor said that Ms. Ventura had tried to run away from a Freak Off session with Mr. Combs and a male escort that was taking place inside a hotel room. Mr. Combs did not want Ms. Ventura to leave, he wanted the Freak Off to continue, and so he ran after her, kicked her and hit her, allegedly trying to force her to come back.On Tuesday morning, the jury had sent a note specifically asking to review Ms. Ventura’s testimony regarding that incident, and another incident where she claims that Mr. Combs physically abused her because she had refused to partake in a Freak Off, which occurred in the south of France, during a Cannes film festival. The jury also asked to see testimony by a male escort, Daniel Philips, who testified during the trial, indicating that the jurors were discussing the transportation for the purpose of prostitution charges. The jury reached verdicts on the sex trafficking and the transportation for the purpose Deliberations will continue on Wednesday. Mr. Combs whispered to his six adult children seated in the second row behind, and told his mother, “I’ll be alright. Love you.”

Jury in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Case Reaches Verdict on Four of Five Counts but Is Hung on Key ‘Racketeering’ Charge: Judge Orders Them To Keep Deliberating

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