Jury reaches verdict on all but one charge in Sean (Diddy) Combs trial

WARNING: This story contains allegations of ​​​sexual violence and may affect those who have experienced​ it or know someone impacted by it.

The jury in Sean (Diddy) Combs's sex trafficking trial said Tuesday that it has reached a verdict on four of five counts against the hip-hop mogul. But the partial decision remained under wraps as they kept deliberating on the top charge: racketeering conspiracy.

Prosecutors, Combs's defence team and Judge Arun Subramanian reasoned that after just two days of deliberations, it was too soon to give up on reaching a verdict on all counts. So rather than taking a partial verdict, Subramanian told the jury to continue weighing the remaining charge. Deliberations will continue Wednesday.

The developments came late Tuesday afternoon, when the jury sent a note saying it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge because there were jurors with "unpersuadable views" on both sides.

After hearing about the note, Combs appeared morose as his lawyers explained to him what was happening. At one point, lead defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo stepped away from the huddle, returned with a piece of paper and handed it to Combs, who read it solemnly. The hip-hop mogul's mother and several of his children returned to the courtroom.

Combs stood with his hands in his pockets as jurors came into the courtroom for the judge's guidance.

"It is your duty as jurors to consult with one another and to deliberate with a view to reaching an agreement," Subramanian told them, recapping an instruction he'd read before deliberations began.

Jurors are weighing charges that Combs used his fame, wealth and violence to force two girlfriends into drug-fuelled sex marathons with male sex workers known as "freak-offs" or "hotel nights."

He has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers contend prosecutors are trying to criminalize Combs's swinger lifestyle and that, if anything, his conduct amounted to domestic violence, not federal felonies.

Combs, 55, could face 15 years in prison to life behind bars if he is convicted of all charges. 

Racketeering conspiracy — the first count on the jury's verdict sheet — is the most complicated of the charges against Combs because it requires jurors to decide not only whether he ran a "racketeering enterprise" but also whether he was involved in committing some or all of various types of offences, such as kidnapping and arson.

The charge falls under RICO — the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — which is best known for being used in organized crime and drug cartel cases.

During the proceedings in New York City, the jury heard from nearly three-dozen witnesses, including ex-girlfriends, former Combs employees, male escorts and federal agents.

On Tuesday, the panel of eight men and four women asked for the account from former longtime girlfriend Cassie — the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura — that described Combs beating, kicking and dragging her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016, an incident captured in security camera footage.