Sean “Diddy” Combs plans to appeal a Manhattan judge’s ruling that the disgraced hip hop mogul be locked up without bail ahead of his trial on disturbing sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Combs, 54, filed a notice of appeal with the Southern District of New York on Monday, according to court documents, the first step in an attempt to spring himself from the slammer.
It remains unclear when the official appeal will actually be filed, or when a hearing will be held.
Combs was arrested at a Manhattan hotel on September 16, and has been held in Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center — which has housed the likes of sex criminals R. Kelly and Ghislaine Maxwell, and crypto-currency swindler Sam Bankman-Fried.
As a “preventative measure,” Combs had been placed on suicide watch — but his legal team has insisted he is in a good state of mind and is preparing his case.
“His resolve is strong, he’s engaged, he’s focused on his defense,” attorney Marc Agnifilo previously told TMZ.
Combs has hired two attorneys to join Agnifilo in his defense: Anthony Ricco, who successfully represented an NYPD officer charged with killing an unarmed man; and Alexandra Shapiro, who is working on Bankman-Fried’s own appeal.
Prosecutors argue Combs was a “serial abuser and a serial obstructer” during his first bail hearing, and brought up a 2016 incident where he tried to bribe hotel security to cover up his violent assault on then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
Manhattan federal Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky agreed with prosecutors, and remanded Combs to jail.
Combs is accused of masterminding disturbing orgies he dubbed “Freak Offs,” in which women would be lured into his orbit, dosed with drugs and forced into days-long marathon sex sessions with male prostitutes.
Drugs were used to “keep the victims obedient and compliant,” according to the federal complaint, while Combs would allegedly film the sessions and masturbate to them.
The operation allegedly used employees of Combs’ who helped organize travel for participants, book hotel rooms where the “Freak Offs” were held, and bring stockpiles of lube, drugs, and extra sheets.
The embattled hip hop star was also charged with racketeering conspiracy, fraud, and coercion and transportation for the purposes of prostitution, each of which he pleaded not guilty to.
His next court appearance is scheduled for October 9.
