Gina Vivinetto is a trending news reporter for TODAY.com
A former security guard at the hotel where surveillance cameras captured Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating his then-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, in 2016 was the first witness called to the stand during Combs' federal sex trafficking trial May 12 in New York City.
Israel Florez, who is a now a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, was on duty the morning Combs attacked Ventura in a sixth-floor hallway of the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles in March 2016, according to NBC News. Florez testified that he was called to the sixth floor to help a woman in distress. When he arrived at the scene, he said, he recognized Combs, who was wearing nothing but a towel, but did not recognize Ventura. “She was scared,” Florez told the court. “She was in the corner, hood on, covered up. I couldn’t see her face, she was pretty much in the corner. On the floor was a destroyed flower vase.” Florez recalled Combs telling him that he and Ventura had been arguing. Florez said when Ventura tried to walk away from the scene to get her phone, Combs told her she couldn't leave. Florez said during his testimony that he then positioned himself in the doorway and stood for several minutes until Ventura left. Florez also recalled that before he left, Combs offered him what the former hotel guard said was a 'bribe.' “I started to leave and called for me,” Florez said. “He had a sack of money and he threw it at me and said, ‘Don’t tell anyone.’” Combs also attempted to take the phones of the hotel security guards, Florez recalled. “He came to the door, closed the door behind him, he grabbed the phone my colleague was holding because he thought he was being recorded. He eventually gave the phone back,” Florez said. “We said, ‘We are not recording you’ and de-escalated the situation,” he continued. Florez recalled that he pinned Combs against a wall when Combs grabbed for his phone. Security footage showing Combs hitting and kicking Ventura in the hotel’s hallway during the March 5, 2016, incident was officially submitted into evidence, NBC News reported. Combs is facing five criminal counts during the trial: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. The disgraced hip-hop mogul has denied all the allegations against him. Ventura, who entered into a decades-long off-and-on relationship with Combs when she was 19, filed a civil lawsuit on Nov. 16, 2023 in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan accusing Combs of repeatedly raping and abusing her during their relationship. Ventura said in her lawsuit that Combs also forced her to participate in “intricately staged and forced sexual encounters” with male sex workers. Combs' lawyer Ben Brafman initially responded to the Ventura's allegations by calling them “baseless and outrageous lies.' Combs and Ventura reached a settlement the day after the suit was filed. On May 17, 2024, the security camera footage from the InterContinental Hotel surfaced. Two days later, Combs released a video that showed him apologizing for his behavior at the hotel. Combs told fans he had 'hit rock bottom' at the time of the incident, and said he later sought professional help by going to both therapy and rehab. A list of witnesses for Combs' trial has not been released to the media. Allegations made by an accuser identified as “Victim-1” in the case’s indictment are similar to the allegations Ventura made in her lawsuit. The federal case revolves around the allegations of 'Victim-1' and three other alleged victims, identified in the indictment as “Victim-1,” “Victim-2,” “Victim-3” and “Victim-4,” according to NBC News. All four are expected to testify during the trial.
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