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Sean Combs will remain in jail pending his sentencing for transportation to engage in prostitution, with Judge Arun Subramanian denying the mogul bail following the mixed verdict in his sex trafficking and racketeering case Wednesday, July 2.
Combs was found guilty on two lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitution, but acquitted on the most serious charges: sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. While Combs’ lawyers argued forcefully for his release on bond and said Combs had taken steps to better himself by enrolling in a violence intervention program shortly before his September arrest, Subramanian ultimately sided with the government’s argument that detention is “mandatory” for this type of conviction.
The 55-year-old looked somewhat stunned by Subramanian’s swift decision. At one point he raised his hand to speak to the judge, but seemed to reconsider after prosecutors doubled down in their argument, claiming Combs was unmatched in his “brazenness.”
Still, Combs’ lead attorney Marc Agnifilo said they weren’t “nearly done fighting.” Speaking outside the courthouse on Wednesday evening, he added, “We’re not going to stop until he walks out of prison a free man to his family.”
In denying Combs’ release, Subramanian leaned heavily on Combs’ admission of violence, saying it was “impossible” for Combs to “demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he poses no danger to any other personor the community.”
While the defense admission was ostensibly part of an otherwise successful strategy to distance Combs’ documented actions from the actual charges against him, Subramanian repeated Agnifilo’s quotes from the transcript back to him.
“At trial, the defense conceded defendant’s violence in personal relationships saying ‘it happened’ in relation to” Combs’ ex-girlfriends Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and the pseudonymous Jane, Subramanian said. The judge also highlighted Combs was admittedly violent with Jane in June 2024. This was “at a time when he should have known that he needed to stay clean,” the judge said.
He ruled that Combs’ lawyers had not adequately shown that Combs poses “no danger to any person.”
In pushing back on Subramanian’s decision and arguing for a lower sentence for Combs, Agnifilo said that Combs was “in the process of working on himself.” He revealed that Combs attended meetings at a “batterers’ program” at New York organization called the Urban Resource Institute before his arrest, and that Jane had helped Combs write the letter to get him into the program. (Rolling Stone has reached out to the institute for comment.)
Agnifilo also called Combs a “model prisoner,” and stated, “I just think we should trust him. He’s not going to flee.”
But the argument failed to sway Subramanian, who rebuffed Agnifilo at one point by telling him,“You full-throatedly in your closing argument told the jury that there was violence here. And domestic violence is violence.”
Amid this back and forth, prosecutor Maurene Comey called Combs “an extremely violent man with an extraordinarily dangerous temper, who has shown no remorse and no regret for his multiple victims.” She said the only exceptional thing about Combs was “his wealth, his violence, and his brazenness.” (Agnifilo retorted by saying, “Listening to Ms. Comey makes me appreciate that we have juries.”)
Subramanian tentatively scheduled Combs’ sentencing for Oct. 3, and noted that the nearly 10 months Combs has already spent in jail will go towards his ultimate sentence. He also indicated that he would be open to the defense’s push for an expedited sentencing process. A follow-up hearing on the sentencing schedule was set for July 8 at 2 p.m. ET.
After the ruling, Agnifilo went over to Combs’ family and delivered a quasi-pep talk to explain the situation. He told them that Southern District of New York prosecutors never lose racketeering cases, adding, “Today is a great day. He gets his life back with all of you.” Combs then spoke to his family directly. “We’ll make it through this,” he said. “Stay in the light. I’ll see you all when I get out. Love you, stay strong.” He blew kisses to friends and family before leaving the courtroom.
Outside the courthouse on Wednesday evening, Agnifilo made similar remarks to a press pool. “Today is a great victory for Sean Combs. It’s a great victory for the jury system. You saw that the Southern District of New York prosecutors came at him with all that they had,” Agnifilo said. “Today is a win. Today is a victory of all victories for Sean Combs.”
Combs seemed hopeful of his release Wednesday, once again reading a print out of Psalms 11, reading the passage quietly to himself. His team offered a $1 million bond and assured that Combs would continue to submit to drug tests as part of possible conditions. They also said Combs would restrict his travel to parts of Florida and California (where he has homes), as well as New York and New Jersey (for meetings with lawyers and court appearances).
And after seeing the government’s letter, Combs’ attorneys filed a second letter that pushed back against the assertion Combs was convicted of a “crime of violence,” and also listed several “exceptional reasons” that made further detention inappropriate, such as caring for his elderly mother and children.
“For months, the government repeatedly argued, and announced to the world, that Sean Combs was a monster who perpetrated a 20-year federal crime spree through a racketeering enterprise,” the letter read. “It devoted enormous resources to this prosecution… That jury heard the government’s evidence, including testimony from his former girlfriends. By its verdict, the jury resoundingly rejected the government’s depiction of Mr. Combs.”
But prosecutors adamantly opposed Combs’ release, as well as Ventura, whose attorney Douglas Wigdor filed a separate letter to the court. “Ms. Ventura believes that Mr. Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as to the community,” he wrote.
Government witness, stylist, and Ventura’s close friend Deonte Nash also submitted a letter, citing “grave concern” at the possibility of Combs’ release. “I feel compelled to be unequivocal about the danger he poses to the public and to the individuals who have risked everything by coming forward,” Nash wrote, noting Combs’ “long, well-documented history of violent, coercive, and retaliatory behavior” and calling him a “serious and immediate threat to victims, witnesses, and the broader community.”
“He’s not going to stop, it’s his personality. This is innate to him,” a plaintiff who has filed a civil lawsuit against Combs adds to Rolling Stone. “There’s real fear. Now we have to look over our shoulders.”
Prosecutors raised concerns that Combs would “flagrantly disregard orders from this court” if released. They cited evidence presented during the trial that Combs “continued to commit a litany of crimes” — such as alleged abuse and drug use — even after he knew he was under federal investigation.
Combs has now cleared the risk of serving life in prison on the three most serious counts against him. Still, the prostitution conviction could land Combs in prison for up to 20 years, with each charge carrying a possible sentence of up to 10 years. However, Combs’ team said they’d be pushing for the minimum sentence which they pinned between 21 to 27 months. Legal experts also have noted that the actual sentence could be less severe, especially since Combs had no prior criminal record.
