A third judge denied bail for Sean “Diddy” Combs as he awaits trial

NEW YORK (AP) – Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail on Wednesday awaiting a May sex trafficking trial by a judge who cited evidence showing he poses a “serious risk” of witness tampering, and the evidence , which he tried to cover, are prohibited from communicating with third parties while serving his sentence.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian issued the five-page order following a bail hearing last week. At the hearing, the hip-hop mogul’s lawyers argued that their proposed $50 million bail could be enough to forestall Combs from absconding and attempting to intimidate potential trial witnesses.

Two other judges previously agreed with prosecutors that the Bad Boy Records founder was a danger to the community if he wasn’t behind bars. Subramanian agreed.

“There is compelling evidence of Combs’ propensity for violence,” Subramanian wrote.

Lawyers for Combs didn’t immediately reply to messages looking for comment on the choice. Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, declined to comment on the case.

Combs, 55, pleaded not guilty allegations that he abused and abused women for years, with the support of colleagues and employees. The indictment alleges that he silenced victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.

Last month, a federal appeals court judge refused to instantly release Combs while a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan considers his bail request. The appeal was placed on hold until Subramanian, newly appointed to the case after the previous judge stepped down, heard the bail application for the primary time.

Subramanian said he had re-examined all of the arguments regarding bail and the supporting evidence before making his decision.

Prosecutors insisted that no bail conditions could be sufficient to guard the general public and forestall the “I’ll Be Missing You” singer from escaping.

They say that even while in federal custody in Brooklyn, Combs mounted social media campaigns aimed toward influencing potential jurors and tried to publicly release materials he believed would help his case. He can be said to have contacted potential witnesses through third parties.

Combs’ lawyers argue that any alleged sexual abuse described within the indictment occurred during consensual intercourse between adults, and the brand new evidence disproves allegations that Combs abused his “power and prestige” induce female victims in drugged, elaborately produced sexual performances with prostitutes known as “Freak Offs”.

Subramanian said the evidence shows Combs poses a “serious risk of witness tampering,” especially after he communicated with a grand jury witness over the summer and deleted a few of his text messages with the witness.

The judge also cited evidence that Combs violated Bureau of Prisons regulations while on pretrial detention on the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn when he paid other inmates to make use of their phone numbers so he could make phone calls to individuals who weren’t on his approved contact list.

He said there was also evidence that he told relations and defense counsel so as to add other people to the three-way calls to make their communications harder to trace, and that he made efforts to influence the jury pool in his trial or reach out to potential witnesses.

Subramanian said his “willingness to circumvent” prison rules to hide communications was “strong evidence” that any conditions of release wouldn’t prevent similar behavior.

The judge said the defense’s claim that Combs stopped using one particular telephone technique criticized by prosecutors is contradicted by the incontrovertible fact that Combs apparently used it again on Sunday, two days after last week’s bail hearing.

The judge said even a bail proposal that included the harshest type of house arrest seemed insufficient.

“Given the nature of the allegations in this case and the information provided by the government, the Court doubts whether any terms that place trust in Combs and those in his employ — such as private security — are sufficient to support compliance with those terms,” Subramanian wrote.