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(NewsNation) — Judge Arun Subramanian quickly denied a motion by Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ defense team for a mistrial after a Los Angeles Fire Department official admitted evidence was destroyed following an arson case in 2012.
LAFD arson investigator Lance Jiminez told the jury Wednesday that two fingerprint cards collected in the firebombing of a fellow rapper’s car were destroyed without his permission by someone at the Los Angeles Police Department in 2012.
Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo said that it is “outrageous,” implying “someone here” (Combs) had something to do with the improper destruction of evidence.
The judge told the jurors to dismiss the testimony about the fingerprint cards.
Kid Cudi car fire was targeted, investigator says
Jiminez, who has been with the LAFD since 2003, was called to Scott Mescudi’s (known as Kid Cudi) residence after the rapper’s Porsche was lit on fire.
Jiminez said a Molotov cocktail appeared to have been used to ignite Mescudi’s vehicle, but it did not explode due to a malfunction; however, the damage can be quite extensive if it went off, he explained.
At the time, the fire department was at the rapper’s home on Jan. 9, 2012. By the time he arrived, the fire had been extinguished. He testified, “I personally felt that it was targeted.”
According to Jiminez, investigators collected a 40 oz. bottle of Old English malt liquor with gasoline in it, a red lighter and a cloth with some kind of designer lable.
DNA was collected from the scene as well. Jiminez indicated it was “partially female” but was unsure what that indicated.
LAPD officer who responded to Kid Cudi home break-in testifies
Chris Ignacio, a 16-year veteran Los Angeles police officer, took the stand on Wednesday. He was the officer who took the call on December 22, 2011 when Combs allegedly broke into Kid Cudi’s Hollywood Hills home.
The police officer corroborated Cudi’s testimony that some Christmas presents were opened. Ignacio said he and his partner noticed a Black Escalade drive by twice. The second time, he ran the plates and found it was registered to Bad Boy Productions, Combs’ music label.
The police officer filed a Trespassing Report, adding it was not reported as a burglary because no items were stolen and he was not told of any death threats against anyone.
Ex-Diddy assistant claims she was kidnapped in plot to kill Kid Cudi
On Tuesday, Combs’ former assistant, Capricorn Clark, testified for a full day, telling jurors she was kidnapped at gunpoint by Combs, who also threatened to kill her.
Clark testified that she was kidnapped in December 2011 by Combs, who forced her to go to Kid Cudi’s home to confront him about his relationship with his ex-partner, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura.
She said Combs showed up at her door with a gun in his hand and told her to, “put some motherf—— clothes on. We’re going to kill this n—-,” referring to Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi.
Clark testified she told him she did not want to go but that Combs was insistent, saying he did not care what she wanted to do.
She said that while at Cudi’s home, she called Ventura to warn her that Combs was inside.
According to Clark’s testimony, Combs threatened to kill her, Ventura and Cudi.
Kid Cudi testifies Diddy targeted him over Cassie relationship
In his testimony last week, Cudi said Clark told him that Combs allegedly broke into his Hollywood Hills home in 2011. He said Combs had gone into the house because he was upset Cudi was seeing Ventura.
Clark also recounted that on her first day on the job with Combs, he threatened to kill her over her former employment with his rival Suge Knight, who ran record label Death Row Records.
“He told me that he didn’t know that I had anything to do with Suge Knight and if anything happened, he would have to kill me,” Clark testified.
When asked by the prosecution what she made of Combs’ intimidating remark, she said she believed he was “very serious.”
Clark was the third former assistant to testify against Combs. She worked for him from 2004 to 2012.
Tamara Holder, a Chicago-based women’s rights and sexual abuse attorney, spoke to NewsNation on Wednesday about Clark’s testimony.
“This is another attempt to get the jury to understand coercive control, that Diddy did not just have this kind of control over Cassie but also over young women who worked for him. He was all-powerful and he acted like a puppet master, controlling women whether lovers or employees using the same tactics of fear and violence.”
…”Also let me stress these women were young. You don’t see older women being lured into this lifestyle or workplace,” Holder said.
Her testimony appeared to match accounts of the other former assistants who had previously testified: David James and George Kaplan.
Clark told the jury she was ordered to take a lie detector test after Combs accused her of stealing jewelry.
Ex-Diddy assistants’ testimony on ‘Freak Offs’
James had also testified that Combs made him take lie detector tests when Combs was trying to find out who stole money and a watch.
All three assistants said they either set up or cleaned up hotel rooms for Combs’ “Freak Off” sex parties.
Jeffrey Lichtman, a criminal defense attorney who is representing Combs’ son, Justin, told NewsNation that the government overcharged Combs.
“The Feds overcharged Diddy with a RICO case, and I think at the end of the day, the jury won’t see him as the type of defendant that typically runs a RICO enterprise i.e. a mafia boss, a cartel leader, etc. So, for that reason, I suspect he will walk. He’s lucky that the government hates him so much to overcharge him so badly,” Lichtman said.
However, the criminal defense attorney, the evidence against Combs “has shown just the worst behavior by Diddy. The guns. The domestic violence. The blackmail. The extortions. The abuse of everyone around him. And the defense has haplessly done almost nothing to counter it. No witness has been even remotely impeached.”
Combs is facing federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The Associated Press contributed to this report





