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    Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s Path From Harlem to Stardom, and Now Federal Court

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    Jason Swain was on his way home to the Bronx when friends told him that something had happened to his brother at a charity basketball game in Harlem. Nine young people at a City College of New York gymnasium were crushed to death in an overcrowded stairwell. Dirk Swain, 21, was lying on the gym floor with a sheet draped over his body.The promoter of the December 1991 event was a 22-year-old novice music producer named Sean Combs.For more than six years, the Swains and other families pursued wrongful death suits, saying Mr. Combs had oversold the game, and that bad planning and inadequate security had led to the tragedy. By the time their cases were settled, Mr. Combs had skyrocketed from a junior record label employee to global superstardom; the $750,000 that he contributed to the $3.8 million in settlements represented a fraction of his wealth as hip-hop’s newest, flashiest mogul.Mr. Combs never accepted full responsibility for the deaths and, for many people, the stampede faded into history. But not for the families who lost their loved ones.“Every one of those nine people was doing something positive in their life,” Mr. Swain said in an interview.The City College incident was Mr. Combs’s first moment of notoriety, but far from his last. In the ensuing three decades, he has repeatedly faced allegations of violence or serious misconduct. The beating of a rival music executive. Gunshots fired in a nightclub. The threatening of a reality-TV cast member. An assault of a college football coach.If found guilty of all charges, Sean Combs, who has spent the last seven months in a Brooklyn jail, could spend the rest of his life in prison.Willy Sanjuan/Invision, via Associated PressWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Loses Request to Remove All Hotel Assault Video From Trial

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      It is not yet clear how much surveillance footage of the music mogul beating his former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, in 2016 will be presented to the jury.Lawyers for Sean Combs lost their bid to keep all footage of his 2016 hotel assault on his former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, out of his racketeering and sex trafficking trial, which starts next month.At a hearing on Friday, Judge Arun Subramanian ruled that some footage surrounding the assault could be admitted, but it is not yet clear how much of it will be shown.The music mogul’s lawyers argued that the security footage, published by CNN last year, had been sped up, and that the events depicted in it were presented out of sequence. They did not dispute that the video showed their client beating, kicking and dragging Ms. Ventura, but they asserted that the way the footage had been presented was “deceptive” and not fit to be used as evidence.The government is not seeking to admit the entire CNN broadcast into the trial, but there is other footage of the incident, including files provided by CNN through a subpoena.Prosecutors said they were working to slow down some of the CNN footage based on the defense’s concerns. They also said there are two iPhone videos taken of the original footage that partially depict the incident, and the witness who took them will be testifying at the trial.The jury selection process in the case begins on Monday, and opening statements are scheduled for May 12.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Judge Declines to Revoke Young Thug’s Probation After Social Media Post

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      The district attorney’s office in Fulton County, Ga., had cited a post in which the rapper referred to a gang investigator as the “Biggest liar in the DA office.”A judge declined on Thursday to revoke the probation of the Atlanta rapper Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, after prosecutors moved to have him punished for a post on social media in which Mr. Williams referred to a local gang investigator as the “Biggest liar in the DA office.”In a brief ruling on Thursday, Fulton County Judge Paige Reese Whitaker declined the motion from the district attorney’s office of Fani T. Willis without explanation.Atlanta prosecutors had filed a motion on Wednesday arguing that Mr. Williams had violated the terms of his probation, writing that he “has engaged in conduct that directly threatens the safety of witnesses and prosecutors, compromises ongoing legal proceedings, and warrants immediate revocation of probation.”Mr. Williams, 33, pleaded guilty late last year to participation in criminal street gang activity, in addition to drug and weapons charges, ending his role in a sprawling racketeering trial that became the longest criminal proceeding in Georgia history. (The two of the six original defendants in the trial who refused plea deals were found not guilty of murder and conspiracy to violate the RICO act.)At the judge’s discretion, Mr. Williams, who had faced up to 120 years in prison if convicted, was sentenced to time served and 15 years of probation, with an additional 20 years of prison time possible if he violated the agreement. The strict terms of the probation barred Mr. Williams from metro Atlanta for 10 years; required him to undergo random searches and drug tests; and instructed him to refrain from promoting any gangs or associating with known members, potentially complicating his career as a touring rapper.In response to the filing by prosecutors on Wednesday, a lawyer for Mr. Williams, Brian Steel, said in a statement: “This motion is baseless. While intimidation and threats of violence are never appropriate, Jeffery Williams has done nothing wrong. We look forward to seeking a dismissal of this petition.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Sean Combs’s Lawyers Say Video of Hallway Assault Was Altered

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      The video, a critical piece of the prosecution’s case, shows the music mogul beating and kicking his girlfriend at a hotel in 2016.Lawyers for Sean Combs argued at a court hearing on Friday that a leaked security video showing Mr. Combs assaulting his former girlfriend was “deceptive,” and said they would request that it not be allowed as evidence at his upcoming trial on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.That video, recorded at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016, was broadcast by CNN last year, months before Mr. Combs’s arrest. It showed him beating, kicking and dragging Casandra Ventura, his former girlfriend and an artist once signed to his record label under her stage name, Cassie.Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Mr. Combs, said that a forensic analysis of the security footage aired by CNN showed that the video had been sped up from its original source, that events were depicted out of sequence and that time stamps on the original tape had been covered up.“It’s a deceptive piece of evidence,” Mr. Agnifilo argued. Mr. Combs’s lawyers, however, did not define how a change in sequencing would have affected a viewer’s understanding of what occurred.Mr. Combs’s legal team also accused CNN of destroying the original footage, and said they planned to file a motion to exclude the video from evidence at Mr. Combs’s criminal trial, which is set to begin in May.CNN, in a statement from a spokeswoman, denied the allegations. “CNN never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source,” the statement said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      YSL Trial Ends With Final Defendants Acquitted of Murder and Gang Charges

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      The winding, yearslong case against the star Atlanta rapper Young Thug, who recently pleaded guilty to gang charges, and five others concluded on Tuesday.Shannon Stillwell, left, and Deamonte Kendrick were found not guilty of murder and conspiracy to violate the RICO act.Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, via Associated PressMiguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, via Associated PressThe two remaining defendants in the gang conspiracy and racketeering case against YSL, the Atlanta rap label that prosecutors said doubled as a violent street crew led by Young Thug, were found not guilty on Tuesday of murder and conspiracy to violate the RICO act.The verdict ended a winding trial that became the longest in Georgia history. It arrived nearly two years after jury selection began and followed a year of testimony from close to 200 witnesses and nearly 16 hours of deliberations spread across four days.Young Thug, the platinum-selling rapper born Jeffery Williams, accepted a guilty plea on Oct. 31 and was released from jail after being sentenced to time served and 15 years of strict probation. As the case limped toward its conclusion in recent weeks, three other defendants also negotiated plea deals amid chaotic proceedings.Yet two of the original six men on trial — Deamonte Kendrick, known as the rapper Yak Gotti, and Shannon Stillwell, also known as Shannon Jackson — said they rejected similar deals with prosecutors, opting to leave their fate to jurors in Fulton County, Ga.On Tuesday, Mr. Kendrick and Mr. Stillwell were acquitted of the 2015 murder of Donovan Thomas Jr., an alleged gang rival, and also found not guilty of participating in criminal street gang activity and conspiracy to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act, or RICO. Mr. Stillwell was also acquitted of a second murder, but he was found guilty of a single count: possessing a firearm as a felon.The judge in the case, Paige Reese Whitaker, was required to sentence Mr. Stillwell to the maximum sentence for the gun charge — 10 years in prison — because of recidivism guidelines. But she opted to convert all but two of those years to probation while also crediting Mr. Stillwell with time served.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Is Denied Bail a Third Time

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      A federal judge ruled against the music mogul’s efforts to be released from jail while he awaits trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.Sean Combs, the embattled music mogul who has been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering, was denied bail again on Wednesday after a federal judge rejected his lawyers’ third attempt to challenge his detention.Judge Arun Subramanian wrote in the order that prosecutors had presented evidence of Mr. Combs’s propensity for violence and that he had violated jail regulations by trying to obscure his communications with the outside world.The judge wrote that “there is evidence supporting a serious risk of witness tampering.”The decision orders Mr. Combs to remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a hulking federal facility on the Brooklyn waterfront, until his trial, which is scheduled for May. Mr. Combs, 55, has been detained since his arrest in September after a nearly 10-month federal investigation.After Mr. Combs’s arrest, his lawyers offered a robust bail package that they argued was more than sufficient to assuage the court’s concerns about the risks of his release. They offered a $50 million bond, secured by Mr. Combs’s Florida mansion and said that Mr. Combs would pay for round-the-clock security, with visitors restricted to family. Apart from contact with his lawyers, he would have no access to phones or the internet.Prosecutors asserted that there was no way the government could trust that private security guards, paid for by Mr. Combs, could be depended on to prevent efforts toward obstructing justice, which, they argued, he had been engaging in before and after his indictment.Judge Subramanian agreed, writing in the order that “the Court doubts the sufficiency of any conditions that place trust in Combs and individuals in his employ — like a private security detail — to follow those conditions.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Will Remain Jailed Until Judge Rules on Third Bail Request

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      A federal judge is still weighing the music mogul’s arguments that he should be freed while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.Sean Combs, the embattled music mogul who has been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering, will remain in jail after a federal judge on Friday said he would continue to weigh arguments about Mr. Combs’s release.Judge Arun Subramanian said at a hearing that he would decide next week on Mr. Combs’s third and latest request to be released on bail.That means that Mr. Combs will, at least for now, stay at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a hulking federal facility on the Brooklyn waterfront; his trial is scheduled for May. Mr. Combs, 55, has been detained since his arrest two months ago after a nearly 10-month federal investigation. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.Mr. Combs, in tan jail clothes, entered the courtroom smiling, and mouthed “love you” to his mother and six of his children.The central question of the hearing was whether he could be trusted to follow his lawyers’ commands and follow the specifications of his release if granted bail. Prosecutors have accused Mr. Combs of contacting grand jury witnesses, paying a potential witness to make a statement in his favor and attempting to use three-way phone calls from jail to contact associates whom prosecutors consider part of his “criminal enterprise.”The judge queried both sides closely, noting some evidence that Mr. Combs had not fully obeyed his lawyers, while also indicating some skepticism of the government’s argument that he was trying to obstruct the case from jail. (That included an allegation that Mr. Combs had orchestrated a social media post on his birthday that prosecutors said was intended to influence potential jurors.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Banned From Atlanta: The Challenges of Young Thug’s Unique Probation

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      The rapper was released from jail last week after a surprise guilty plea. For 15 years, a set of strict requirements will govern his life and music.One of the defining Atlanta rappers of his generation is no longer welcome in Atlanta.Following a surprise guilty plea last Thursday in a gang conspiracy and racketeering case that had already lasted nearly three years, the musician Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, was given 48 hours to vacate the Atlanta metro area, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, for the next decade.Once the chart-topping face of Atlanta’s ever-evolving music scene, Mr. Williams, 33, may now return only briefly, under strict circumstances: for the anti-gun and anti-gang presentations he is required to make to local youth four times annually, or for the weddings, funerals, graduations or medical emergencies of his immediate family members.Mr. Williams’s banishment from his hometown was just one of 12 special conditions that he agreed to as part of a plea deal that allowed him to be released from jail that very evening. But can an international hip-hop star pick up where he left off under a new set of strict provisions that could reshape his lyrics, persona and pool of collaborators?According to experts, the length and intensity of Mr. Williams’s probation could present complications down the line, given the requirements of his profession and the vagueness or subjectivity of some of the rules that now govern his life.The judge in the case — who was given full discretion to decide on a punishment because Mr. Williams’s lawyers and prosecutors could not agree on a sentence even if he pleaded guilty — decided on time served and 15 years of probation, with an additional 20 years of prison time hanging over Mr. Williams’s head if he violates the agreement.Along the way, Mr. Williams must agree to be searched at any time; take random drug tests; refrain from promoting gangs in any way; and avoid associating with known gang members, excluding his brother, the musician Quantavious Grier, who is known as Unfoonk; and Sergio Kitchens, or Gunna, a rapper signed to Mr. Williams’s label. (Both Mr. Grier and Mr. Kitchens took plea deals in the same case ahead of trial.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Young Thug Released After Guilty Plea in Lengthy YSL Case

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      The star Atlanta rapper admitted to six counts, including participating in criminal street gang activity, ending his role in the longest trial in Georgia history.The star Atlanta rapper Young Thug pleaded guilty to participating in criminal street gang activity in a dramatic courtroom scene on Thursday, bringing his starring role in the longest trial in Georgia history to an unexpected conclusion after bumpy witness testimony complicated the state’s prosecution.After hearing sentencing recommendations from both sides, the judge in the case, Paige Reese Whitaker, sentenced Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, to time served, plus 15 years of probation. He was released Thursday night, according to Fulton County jail records.Mr. Williams, 33, was matter-of-fact as he admitted to six counts, including possession of drugs and firearms, before turning contrite as he addressed the courtroom. Prosecutors had described him in opening statements 11 months ago as “King Slime,” the fearsome leader of a pack that terrorized the streets of Atlanta via gang warfare, robbery and drug dealing for nearly a decade as his music career took off.His guilty plea on Thursday followed a tense courtroom moment in which the judge asked Mr. Williams if he was ready to accept a non-negotiated plea, instead of a negotiated deal with prosecutors, because of an impasse over sentencing. Mr. Williams, looking stricken, conferred with his lawyers briefly before the judge called a recess to allow him to decide.In a non-negotiated plea, the judge is responsible for deciding the sentence based on recommendations from both sides.Upon returning, Mr. Williams said he would accept the blind plea; he also pleaded no contest to two additional counts, leading a criminal street gang and conspiracy to violate the RICO act, the state’s racketeering law.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More