New York, New York - A jury has reached a partial verdict in the sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs but has been unable to agree on the most serious charge facing the music mogul – racketeering.
A jury has reached a partial verdict in the sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs but has been unable to agree on the most serious charge facing the music mogul – racketeering. © DIA DIPASUPIL / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
Judge Arun Subramanian instructed the 12 New Yorkers considering Combs's fate to keep working on that charge, and, in the meantime, the verdicts on the other counts will remain under wraps and only known to the jurors themselves.
"We have reached a verdict on counts 2, 3, 4, and 5. We are unable to reach a verdict on count 1 as we have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides," the jury of eight men and four women said in a note read aloud in court.
The jury will return to the deliberation room on Wednesday morning. It was a dramatic development in a case that jurors only began considering together midday Monday. They must reach a unanimous decision to either acquit or convict.
Before the note was read aloud in court, the defense team huddled around Combs, who looked visibly anxious, alternating between hanging his head, staring straight ahead, and rubbing his temples with his hand, shielding his eyes.
At times his fingers shook, and at one point he turned to wave to his daughters, one of whom waved back.
And Combs – who was once one of the most powerful figures in the music industry – stared at the jurors intently as they filed into the courtroom to hear the judge's response to their note, which was agreed upon by both parties.
Count One is the racketeering charge and accuses Combs of being the ringleader of a decades-long criminal organization that saw him direct loyal employees and bodyguards to commit myriad crimes at his behest.
Those alleged crimes include forced labor, drug distribution, kidnapping, bribery, witness tampering and obstruction, arson, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
To find Combs guilty of racketeering, jurors would need to find the existence of a criminal enterprise and that the organization committed at least two of the offenses listed above.
A conviction would carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
"It is your duty as jurors to consult with one another and to deliberate with a view to reaching an agreement," the judge told jurors, repeating the instructions he gave them on Monday.
"Each of you must decide the case for himself or herself, but you should do so only after a consideration of the case with your fellow jurors, and you should not hesitate to change an opinion when convinced that it is erroneous."
