Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs is detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center (M.D.C) in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, after being denied bail in a federal court on Tuesday, according to the New York Times.
Combs, 54, pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges. His lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, argued that the sexual encounters in question were consensual and requested a $50 million bond secured by his Miami home, the paper reported.
However, federal prosecutors convinced Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky that his wealth and influence made Combs a flight risk and that he should remain in jail pending his trial. They also flagged his past substance abuse and history of violence as grounds to keep him behind bars, the Times said.
The M.D.C. is notorious for poor conditions, including inmate deaths and suicides. Detainee Edwin Cordero died at the facility in July from injuries he sustained in a fight. His lawyer said the prison was "an overcrowded, understaffed and neglected federal jail," describing it as "hell on earth.”
In a letter to the judge, Comb's lawyers called the conditions at the Brooklyn detention center “horrific,” the paper said. Other judges, they noted, “have recognized that the conditions at Metropolitan Detention Center are not fit for pretrial detention.”
Combs is registered under the number 37452-054. His legal team is expected to appeal the bail denial. However, if this fails, he will be held at the federal detention for months as he awaits trial, the paper said.
