Sean Diddy Combs’ attorneys have filed an appeal for him to be released from jail before his trial.
On Tuesday, Oct. 8, the mogul’s lawyer Alexander A.E. Shapiro made the filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, per court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
Combs “was not released pending trial, even though he offered to comply with restrictive conditions that would have prevented any conceivable risk of flight or danger,” the filing reads in part.
In the filing, Shapiro says the court “rejected a plainly sufficient bail package” for Combs and “violated its obligations under the Bail Reform Act.”
“Mr. Combs is presumed innocent. He traveled to New York to surrender because he knew he was going to be indicted,” the filing reads. “He took extraordinary steps to demonstrate that he intended to face and contest the charges, not flee. He presented a bail package that would plainly stop him from posing a danger to anyone or contacting any witnesses. Under the Bail Reform Act, ‘liberty is the norm, and detention prior to trial or without trial is the carefully limited exception.’ ”
Combs, 54, was arrested at a Manhattan hotel on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 8:25 p.m. He was charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He is being held in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
Tuesday’s appeal challenges the Southern District of New York’s decision to deny Combs’ bail due to accusations of alleged witness tampering and obstruction of justice. His legal team is asking that he be released immediately on appropriate bail conditions.
Combs was first denied bail by a federal judge on Sept. 17. His legal team quickly appealed and returned to court the next day, Sept. 18. He was denied bail a second time by SDNY’s Judge L. Carter, who said, “There is no condition or combination of conditions to ensure he will not obstruct justice or tamper with witnesses.”
Shapiro’s appeal comes a week after he filed a notice of intent to appeal on Sept. 30, two weeks after Combs’ arrest.
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Combs, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of coercing women to join elaborate sexual performances described as “freak offs.” He allegedly used his fame, influence and drugs like cocaine, oxycodone and ketamine, to intimidate women to participate in the acts with male sex workers, and later gave them IV treatments to recover.
Combs, who is also accused of physical abuse, allegedly recorded the “freak offs” without the victims’ knowledge. When authorities raided his Los Angeles and Miami homes in March, they seized “freak off supplies,” ranging from drugs to more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant and baby oil.
On Sept. 17, Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo said he’d “fight like hell” to get Combs released from prison ahead of his trial.
Noting that Combs went to New York “to engage the court system” before his arrest, Agnifilo said, “he should be released with all that he’s done and come here voluntarily.”
In a separate statement to PEOPLE following Combs’ arrest, Agnifilo said of his client: “He is an imperfect person but he is not a criminal.”
Combs’ next court date is set for Thursday, Oct. 10.
Source: People
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