It’s the eighth day of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ racketeering and sex-trafficking trial. So far, the jury has heard testimony from 10 witnesses.
Before the jury was dismissed for lunch yesterday, David James, a Combs former assistant, described witnessing the music mogul use drugs, his role in stocking hotel rooms for Combs, and being subjected to lie detector tests and an intimidating search. Regina Ventura, Cassie Ventura’s mother, testified about visits with her daughter becoming less frequent when she started dating Combs, “memorializing” her daughter’s alleged abuse by taking photos of her condition in one instance, and taking a home equity loan to pay Combs the $20,000 he requested from her.
A male escort, Sharay Hayes, took the stand before the lunch break yesterday, outlining his role in “creating a scene, a sexy scene, that was enjoyable” with Ventura for Combs.
After Hayes wrapped up after lunch, Gerard Gannon, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, gave evidence under direct examination, which is set to resume today at 9 a.m. ET.
Here’s a look at some of what was said yesterday:
Sharay Hayes, a male escort:
No sense of discomfort from Ventura: Under cross-examination from the defense, Hayes said he didn’t “get any cues that there was a discomfort with what was going on,” from Ventura, saying as an exotic dancer he always reads the room to gauge audience comfortability. During his encounters with the pair, he never saw any filming or violence, Hayes said.
Dismissed by Combs and Ventura: Hayes testified that he never used drugs with Combs or Ventura, although they did sometimes offer him alcohol and marijuana but he never saw Combs take drugs or appear to be intoxicated. Hayes did take medications to help his performance, he testified, describing the discomfort of a “sexual scenario with a woman’s partner present.” Hayes’ last session with Ventura and Combs was in 2016 when he failed to perform and was never called back, he said. Before leaving, Hayes testified that Ventura paid him and thanked him for his discretion with their interactions.
Gerard Gannon, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations
2024 raid on Combs’ Miami Beach home: Gannon testified he was the special-agent-in-charge on the ground for the search of Combs’ Miami Beach home in March 2024 and was assigned to his unit because it was tied to a human-trafficking investigation. Between 80 and 90 law enforcement agents participated in the search because of the size of the property and it required a special response team to deal with security measures, like armed security guards.
AR-15 parts found in Combs’ main bedroom: The jury saw photos of items found inside Combs’ main bedroom closet during the raid. High heels, sex toys, baby oil, personal lubricant and lingerie and “upper and lower receivers of AR-15s,” which are parts of the weapon, were all found, Gannon testified.
