Deliberations in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial are off to a rocky start

Deliberations appear to be off to a rocky start in the sex trafficking and racketeering case against Sean "Diddy" Combs on Monday, just hours after the judge turned the case over to the jury. Combs has spent the last six weeks on trial in the Southern District of New York as the government seeks to prove that he was at the helm of a "criminal enterprise," using his employees to help commit several crimes. Within about two hours of deliberations, however, the jury sent a note to the judge expressing a concern over one of its members. The note to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said the group was worried that Juror No. 3 "does not follow" the judge's instructions. No additional details about the cause of the concern were provided. After consulting with both the prosecution and defense, Subramanian agreed to send a response back to the jury, reminding the jurors of their duty to deliberate on a verdict. A juror was already replaced earlier in the trial over concerns that he was unclear about his place of residence. He initially told the court he resided in the Bronx but later made remarks that he lived in New Jersey, which is outside the Southern District of New York's jurisdiction. He was ultimately replaced with one of the alternate jurors, who sat through the duration of the trial. Subramanian dismissed the remaining alternates Monday just before deliberations, with the understanding that they could be called back. Combs faces two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering. The disgraced music mogul has pleaded not guilty to the five counts. Much of the trial focused on Combs' desire for "freak offs," or drug-fueled sexual encounters with hired escorts, often lasting for days at a time. Federal prosecutors brought 34 witnesses to testify against Combs, including former employees and former girlfriends. Casandra Ventura, also known as Cassie, testified for days about her roughly 11-year relationship with Combs. She told the jury that she endured repeated violence while with Combs. Her participation in "freak offs" was consensual at first in order to make Combs happy, but as time went on, she said she felt dependent on drugs to disassociate during the act. A centerpiece of the case was video of a March 2016 assault Ventura endured at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. Security footage showed Ventura walking to the elevator bank, barefoot, before Combs came running down the hall in just a towel. In the video, Combs is seen throwing Ventura to the ground, repeatedly kicking her and trying to drag her back to the hotel room. Ventura testified that a sex worker, who was there for a "freak off," was present when she got back to the hotel room. A hotel security worker testified that Combs sought him out to ask for what he believed to be the only copy of the video. Combs allegedly paid $100,000 to three hotel employees for the video, which he told the worker would "ruin" his career. Combs' defense downplayed the extent of his criminal activity, telling the jury that they admitted that Combs was guilty of domestic violence. But his legal team framed the "freak offs" as consensual sexual activity within the confines of complicated personal relationships. His legal team did not call a single witness to the stand and rested its case only a few hours after the prosecution turned it over. The defense initially had a lengthy potential witness list that it said could take days to review. The legal team, which included Teny Geragos and Marc Agnifilo, relied on its cross-examination to undermine witness testimony. One of the standout moments for the defense was its ability to contradict the testimony of a woman who alleged that Combs dangled her over an apartment balcony by showing he wasn't in the same state when she said the incident happened. Combs did not testify in his own defense at trial. Subramanian went through jury instructions for roughly two hours Monday before handing the case to the jury. He expressed his "heartfelt gratitude" for their weeks of service. Jurors followed with their paper copies of the instructions, underlining key parts and taking notes, especially during the judge's explanations of reasonable doubt, witness credibility and the elements of the charges. Subramanian told them that if they listened to one another and applied common sense, they would come to a fair verdict. Combs faces up to life in prison if convicted on the top charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. For lesser prostitution charges, the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison. For racketeering, the jury must decide that a group of two or more people agreed to engage in a criminal enterprise. The judge informed them that understanding can be spoken or unspoken. As part of the racketeering charge, prosecutors accuse Combs of crimes including kidnapping, arson, bribery and witness tampering. The jury must believe that Combs committed at least two racketeering acts as one of the criteria to convict.