Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial updates: Bail denied due to 'propensity for violence'

Sean "Diddy Combs was convicted of a prostitution-related offense but acquitted Wednesday of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put one of hip-hop's most celebrated figures behind bars for life.

The mixed result came on the third day of deliberations. It could still send Combs, 55, to prison for as long as a decade, and is likely to end his career as a hitmaking music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star.

Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and paid male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act.

But the jury of eight men and four women acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges, related to allegations that he used his money, power and frightening physical force to manipulate his girlfriends into hundreds of drug-fueled sex marathons with the men.

Combs and his defense team argued that the women were willing participants and that none of his violence justified the severity of the charges.

The jury reached a verdict Wednesday morning on the last of the five counts in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial.

They had deliberated for about an hour.

The jury reached a partial verdict on Tuesday, but Judge Arun Subramanian ordered the jury to continue deliberating for a third day.

The verdict will be read in court shortly.

The three-time Grammy Award winner has pleaded not guilty to five felony charges: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

Prosecutors say Combs coerced women into abusive sex parties involving hired male sex workers, ensured their compliance with drugs like cocaine and threats to their careers, and silenced victims through blackmail and violence that included kidnapping, arson and beatings.

After sitting in the courtroom for about thirty minutes, spending much of that time reading a book and jotting down notes, Sean Combs departed the courtroom. He has spent most of the deliberations in a separate location.

Before leaving, he approached his family, who were seated in the first few rows of the gallery. The family members locked hands briefly and shared a moment with Combs, who stood on the other side of the well. His family applauded for him as he walked out of the courtroom. Combs hugged attorney Brian Steel as he exited.

Most of Combs' family then left the courtroom as well.

We are now 14 hours into deliberations.

Deliberations have resumed this morning in the sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Combs is seated alone at the defense counsel table this morning, flipping through a large book and appearing to take notes. The first three tables in the courtroom - usually filled by prosecutors and defense attorneys during the bulk of the trial - are empty except for Combs. His lawyers are huddled together on the side of the courtroom.

In a cliffhanger ending on Tuesday, the jury reported that they had reached a verdict on four of the criminal counts against Combs - two counts each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution - but were unable to reach a verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge.

"We are unable to reach a verdict on Count One, as we have jurors with unpersuadable opinions on both sides," the foreman wrote in a note.

To convict on the racketeering conspiracy charge, the jurors were previously instructed that they need to believe beyond a reasonable doubt that Combs worked with at least one other person to commit two underlying crimes. Prosecutors allege those underlying crimes - known as "predicates" or "racketeering acts" - include kidnapping, arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking, transportation for the purposes of prostitution and drug distribution.

"What the government must prove is that there was a mutual understanding, either spoken or unspoken, between two or more people to cooperate with each other to accomplish the unlawful object," U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian told the jury on Monday during his instructions on the law.

After the jury reported their impasse, Judge Subramanian urged them to continue deliberating on the racketeering conspiracy count.

"Again, your verdict must be unanimous, but you are not bound to surrender your honest convictions concerning the effect or weight of the evidence for the mere purpose of returning a verdict or solely because of the opinion of other jurors," he told the jury. "Each of you must make your own decision about the proper outcome of this case based on your consideration of the evidence and your discussions with your fellow jurors. No juror should surrender his or her conscientious beliefs for the purpose of returning a unanimous verdict."

Since they got the case on Monday, the jury has been deliberating for more than 13 hours.