This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing. AsSean "Diddy" Combs' federalsex-crimes trialkicks off its third week with more harrowing testimony, the jury heard from the mogul's former assistant,Capricorn Clark. On the stand May 27, Clark alleged through tears that the hip-hop mogulkidnapped herand threatened to kill her multiple times while she worked for him. Clark testified that she was onceheld against her willfor five days after several pieces ofjewelry went missingat the rapper's home. She said she was "petrified" and forced to take polygraph tests over and over again. Kid Cudi, born Scott Mescudi, was also brought up in court on May 27, as Clark described Combs rushing to the rapper's Los Angeles home with a gun after learning he was datingCassie Ventura Fine. "I'd never seen anything like this before," Clark told jurors, choking up as she described Combs allegedly breaking into Mescudi's home in a rage. Later on Tuesday, Marc Agnifilo,one of Combs' defense attorneys, zeroed in on Clark's testimony about theconfrontation at Cudi's homeduring his cross-examination. Prosecutors are calling additional witnesses on May 28, including Los Angeles Police Officer Christopher Ignacio, who responded to Mescudi's home the night of the alleged break-in, and other investigators. Deonte Nash, a friend of Ventura Fine who she spoke to aboutCombs' alleged freak offs, is also expected to take the stand. Combs, 55, wasarrested in September 2024and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty. Combs lost a bid for a mistrial in his sex-crimes case, afterhis lawyers arguedthat prosecutors were improperly trying to suggest that the hip-hop mogul had evidence destroyed that was tied toMescudi's car explosion. Alexandra Shapiro, a lawyer for Combs, argued prosecutors' questions to a Los Angeles arson investigator wholooked into the fireimplied that Combs had a role in the destruction of fingerprints found at the scene. Judge Arun Subramanian swiftly denied Shapiro's request for a mistrial. "There was absolutely no testimony from the witness that was prejudicial in any way shape or form," Subramanian said. Los Angeles Police Department officer Chris Ignacio testified about Combs' alleged break-in at Mescudi's home. When Ignacio arrived at the house in Los Angeles on Dec. 22, 2011, he said he noticed a "dark black Cadillac Escalade," that "took off up the hill" when law enforcement arrived. When police searched Mescudi's home, the front door was unlocked and they noted a table had some "high-value watches and purses," but furniture and other belongings didn't look disturbed otherwise. As officers left, they saw the same Escalade coming down the hill. When the looked up the license plates on the vehicle, the registered owner was Bad Boy Productions, Combs' longtime business. Combs' lawyer Brian Steel pressed the police officer about the incident during his cross-examination, and Ignacio said he hadn't seen a car chase, only the black vehicle pulling away from the house. He also told the court Mescudi hadn't mentioned any guns in the home, though previous witnesses including Clark and Ventura Fine said Combs brought a weapon with him during the alleged break-in. Lance Jimenez, an arson investigator for the Los Angeles Fire Department, took the stand May 28 to describe the explosion that wrecked Kid Cudi's Porsche. Jimenez confirmed it was a Molotov cocktail that was responsible for the explosion, calling it a "makeshift firebomb." Jimenez said it appeared the canvas roof of the vehicle was cut before the gas bottle containing gasoline was dropped inside. Normally, the bottle used in a Molotov cocktail breaks and causes a larger explosion, Jimenez testified, but in this case the bottle remained intact. The witness said the flames easily could have spread to Mescudi's home had the bottle exploded from inside the vehicle. The makeshift bomb was made with an Old English malt liquor bottle and a "designer handkerchief," Jimenez said, describing the garment as having "fancy lines" and "silky material." "In my opinion, it was targeted," Jimenez said of the fire, noting that the car wasn't easily visible from the street. Another car also parked behind the Porche, which wasn't damaged at all in the flames. Jimenez said LAFD sent out a few of the items found on the scene for DNA testing. There was no DNA present on a disposable lighter or handkerchief, but on the glass bottle there was a "partial profile" of a "female contributor." However, officials haven't matched the DNA to a specific perpetrator. Clark's testimony on May 27 came after a slew of witnesses, includingVentura Fine's motherRegina Ventura,Danity KanealumDawn RichardandMescudi, appeared in court last week to share harrowing accounts of Combs' alleged abuse. While taking the stand on May 22, Mescudi also alleged Combs broke into his home and locked his dog in a bathroom – and that his vehicleblew up in another incident– after Combs found out he was seeing Cassie. Diddy on trial newsletter:Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes charges After the alleged incident with Cudi, Clark said May 27, Combs calmed down andtold her to call Ventura Fine. The assistant recalled telling Ventura Fine that "he's not gonna let me go until I come get you." According to Clark, Combs said she could only leave once Ventura Fine promised thatMescudi would not call law enforcement. "If you guys don't convince him of that, I'll kill all (of) you," Clark recalled Combs saying. "If you tell on him, he's gonna hurt us all," she alleged she told Ventura Fine. Clark said during her May 27 testimony that she went with Ventura Fine and a bodyguard to Combs' rental home in Los Angeles after the confrontation at Cudi's house, whereDiddy allegedly attacked Cassie. "Puff was standing therein a robe in his underwear and began kicking Cassie. He kept kicking her," she said. "He never used his hands." Clark tearfully testified that Combs pushed Ventura Fine into the street, noting she was down ina full fetal positionas he kept kicking her. "With each kick, she moved back," Clark said. "She was crying silently, he was kicking her in the back." Clark told jurors May 27 that she has a personal connection to one of Diddy's major rap rivals,Suge Knight. The former record executive is the father of her best friend's children. She also recalled an instance early on in working for Combs when she accompanied him to an MTV office to speak to reporters. She overheard him tell his security guard that he didn't like "nonsense" in his work, but he did "like guns." Clark noted that50 Cent was at the MTVoffices that day, and "he had an issue with 50 Cent," a rapper Clark also briefly managed. Diddy and the "Get Rich or Die Tryin" rapper have another legendary hip-hop rivalry, dating back nearly 20 years. 50 Cent, born Curtis Jackson, isproducing a docuseriesto premiere on Netflix about the allegations against Combs. Combs is facing federal sex-crimes and trafficking charges in a sprawling lawsuit that has eroded his status as a power player and kingmaker in the entertainment industry. He wasarrested in September 2024and has been charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He haspleaded not guiltyto all five counts. Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations that contribute to criminal activity. Using RICO law, which is typically aimed attargeting multi-person criminal organizations,prosecutors allegethat Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in "freak offs" — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors allege they have video of. The trial will not be televised, as cameras are typically not allowed in federal criminal trial proceedings. USA TODAY will be reporting live from the courtroom. Contributing: USA TODAY staff;Reuters If you are a survivor of sexual assault,RAINNoffers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) andHotline.RAINN.organd en EspañolRAINN.org/es. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Diddy trial live updates: Judge denies Sean Combs' request for a mistrial
