A federal judge shut down a mistrial request in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial on Wednesday after defense attorneys claimed prosecutors were trying to make the jury believe the disgraced music mogul tampered with an arson investigation involving Kid Cudi’s firebombed vehicle.
Diddy’s team accused prosecutors of misconduct after an LAPD arson expert testified that fingerprint cards from Cudi’s torched 911 were mysteriously destroyed months after the 2012 attack. The car was hit with a Molotov cocktail made from an Olde English 800 bottle and a designer handkerchief.
“They were trying to plant this idea to the these jurors that Mr. Combs authorized this,” defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro argued.
The alleged shock attack occurred after Diddy learned that Cudi was dating Cassie Ventura, Diddy’s on-again, off-again girlfriend.
The judge instructed the jury to disregard the fingerprint testimony and swiftly denied the motion for a mistrial, the first of the trial.
Diddy is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.