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Diddy Placed on Suicide Watch in Brooklyn Metro Detention Center While He Awaits Trial
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been placed on suicide watch in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center while he awaits trial. However, his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, clarified that the rapper is not actually suicidal.
Agnifilo said that the directive is a routine measure for “new, high-profile inmates,” per TMZ. The attorney also told the publication that he spoke with Diddy, 54, for approximately six hours on Thursday, September 19, and that he was “not at all suicidal” and was “strong, healthy, confident and focused on his defense.”
Diddy was arrested on Monday, September 16, and now faces charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution. The “All About the Benjamins” artist pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Diddy offered to put his $48 million dollar mansion in Miami, along with his mother’s $2 million home, up for collateral in an effort to be released on bond. The Bad Boy Records founder also offered to limit his travel to Florida, New York and New Jersey, and said he would wear a GPS monitor. However, the package was denied by the judge on Tuesday, September 17, and Diddy was ordered to be held in jail.
After his initial plea for bond was denied, Diddy’s lawyer returned with a list of conditions in hopes of getting his client out from behind bars. In Touch exclusively obtained a copy of the letter, which included the rapper offering to submit to weekly drug tests and agreeing to have no female visitors at his home in Miami.
“Mr. Combs’ history and characteristics are best demonstrated by the way he has responded to this investigation from the very inception to his most recent decision to travel to New York when his lawyers told him that the case could soon be starting. He has never run from a challenge, and he will not run from this one. Instead, he takes these challenges head on, he moves toward them confidently and with the assurance that right is on his side. These are not merely the words of his lawyer. Rather, the actions of Mr. Combs over the last several months conclusively prove this,” Agnifilo told the judge.
Federal prosecutors argued to Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky that Diddy needed to be kept in custody. The attorneys claimed Diddy’s access to private planes, combined with his wealth, made him a flight risk.
“As set forth below, there is no condition, or combination of conditions, that will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required and the safety of others and the community, not to mention the integrity of the proceedings,” a letter from the prosecutors read. “[Diddy] poses a significant risk of obstructing justice. As reflected by the gravity of the charges in the Indictment, the defendant is dangerous and poses an ongoing threat to the safety of the community.”
The letter continued, “If released, he remains a serious risk of flight, despite the conditions offered by his counsel. Most glaringly, the defendant also poses a significant risk of obstructing justice.”
While the “Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems” rapper will likely be calling the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center home until his trial, TMZ reported on Thursday, September 19, that he’s being held in a special housing unit due to fears for his safety. Former MDC Brooklyn warden Cameron Lindsay told the outlet that Diddy’s celeb status, along with the nature of his alleged crimes, make him a target for other inmates. Lindsay said that other inmates might see killing Diddy as a “badge of honor.”
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