Juror pushed aside from Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial over conflicting statements about residency

The pass judgement on presiding over the high-profile federal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs pushed aside a juror on Monday over conflicting statements about his residency.

The juror, recognized as Juror 6, reportedly claimed all through jury variety that he lived within the Bronx, however ultimate week, prosecutors stated that he advised a courtroom personnel member that he were dwelling in New Jersey, making him ineligible for a Manhattan federal jury.

“Taking these all together, the record raised serious concerns as to the juror’s candor and whether he shaded answers to get on and stay on the jury,” Judge Arun Subramanian stated in courtroom on Monday.

The pass judgement on’s determination got here after the prosecutors alerted the courtroom to the juror’s contradictory statements ultimate week. The pass judgement on stated on Friday that he discovered “several inconsistencies” within the juror’s statements.

Combs’s prison group adverse the juror’s elimination, arguing that Combs can be “severely prejudiced” if Juror 6, who’s a Black guy, had been got rid of. Juror 6 was once one in every of two Black males at the jury, consistent with Combs’s legal professionals.

The change juror who will substitute him is a white guy from Westchester, New York.

Entering its 6th week, the trial endured Monday with prosecutors appearing jurors, for the primary time, video excerpts of the intercourse periods on the middle of the case in opposition to the 55-year-old song rich person – known as “freak offs”. Previously, jurors had best been proven nonetheless pictures pulled from the photos.

A paralegal from america lawyer’s place of job additionally walked jurors thru proof, together with textual content messages and get in touch with logs and the prosecution offered textual content messages to the jury, in addition to go back and forth data related to a male escort they are saying was once employed to take part within the intercourse periods with Combs and his former female friend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who who testified previous within the trial.

Combs, was once arrested in September and is dealing with fees of racketeering conspiracy, intercourse trafficking and transportation to have interaction in prostitution. He has pleaded no longer responsible.

Prosecutors are anticipated to leisure their case later this week, and then the protection will start calling witnesses.

The trial is anticipated to proceed for a couple of extra weeks. If convicted, Combs faces as much as existence in jail.