On day five of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ criminal trial in New York, defense attorney Anna Estevao brought up instances in which Cassie Ventura had previously testified that Combs would take her belongings — sometimes her phone, car, watch, or passport — when he was angry or upset.
“He would take it when he was mad about something,” Ventura said on the stand during cross-examination.
She claimed that this behavior occurred throughout their 11-year relationship, often when Combs suspected her of seeing other men and regardless of whether they were officially together at the time.
One of the specific incidents discussed involved an unnamed NFL player Ventura had been seeing in August 2016.
She testified that she and Combs were on their way to a doctor’s appointment when she unlocked her phone and he suddenly grabbed it and ran out of the car, leaving her behind.
“He was trying to get in it and read my phone,” she said.
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After returning home without her phone, Ventura said her mother called the police. She later got her phone back a few hours later. During that time, she testified, Combs used her phone to call the NFL player she had been seeing.
Ventura said she doesn’t know whether the man is still in the league.
“If I was with anyone else besides him,” Ventura said, he would get “upset.”
When questioned about whether it was considered cheating, she replied, “I don’t know that I would call it cheating. When you’re not with somebody, it’s not cheating… We weren’t married. He would get upset even when we weren’t together or going on breaks.”
The trial, which started Monday with opening statements, is expected to last several weeks.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He is currently being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
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