Sean Combs

Introduction

On September 16, 2024, billionaire Sean Combs (Diddy, Puff Diddy) was arrested by U.S. authorities on federal criminal charges linked to a decades long criminal rape network. He faces one count of racketeering conspiracy, punishable by up to life in prison, one count of rape trafficking, fraud, or coercion, also carrying a life sentence with a mandatory minimum of 15 years, and one count of transportation for prostitution, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. 

The indictment details how Combs used his businesses, Bad Boy Records, Sean John Clothing, Ciroc Vodka, and Revolt TV, as fronts, to orchestrate a wide array of criminal activities, including physical violence, and drugging and trafficking victims for rape.

Harlem Mob Ties

Sean John Combs was born on November 4th in 1969 in Harlem, New York. He has one sibling, a sister named Keisha, and was raised primarily by his mother, Janice Combs, who worked as a teacher’s assistant. His father, Melvin Earl Combs, had served in the U.S. Air Force, and was tangled with a major heroin trafficking ring that flooded the streets of Harlem and Newark with heroin called “Blue Magic” in the 1970’s. The network was run by New York drug lord Frank Lucas and connected to Harlem gangsters Nicky Barnes and Willie Abraham. When Sean was three years old, Melvin was murdered in a drug deal.

According to Aliya S. King’s work with Frank Lucas, Original Gangster, Melvin was killed because the ring thought he was a police informant; every time Melvin got arrested, he was released quickly, and his crew were suspicious that Combs might have been working with the police. He was shot twice in the head while sitting in his car on Central Park West during what is believed to have been a drug deal.

Lucas admitted that he ordered and committed murders, bribed officials in Vietnam to establish a heroin connection, and paid corrupt police officers $200,000 a week. According to Lucas, “I killed the baddest motherf*****. Not just in Harlem but in the world.” In fact, Lucas did more than kill rivals or competitors; he destroyed hundreds if not thousands of lives across Harlem, especially in the black community with the heroin he and his crew distributed. In 2007, Prosecutor Richie Roberts told the New York Times, “Frank Lucas has probably destroyed more black lives than the KKK could ever dream of,”

 Luca’s sourced his heroin from the Golden Triangle, at the border of Thailand, Burma, and Laos, he claimed that he made a deal with a Chinese-Thai man named Luchai Rubiwat, who cultivated poppies and processed opium into nearly pure heroin. According to Lucas, he purchased 132 kilograms at $4,300 per kilogram. In Harlem, the Italian Mafia would have charged $50,000 per kilogram, with street prices reaching as high as $300,000 per kilogram.

Lucas famously claimed that he used the coffins of fallen U.S. soldiers to smuggle heroin into the U.S. during the Vietnam War.  However, this story has largely been denied by both investigators and his associates. Lucas also denied placing the drugs next to or inside the corpses, as some stories have claimed. According to Lucas, “No way I’m touching a dead anything … Bet your life on that.” Instead, Lucas said he enlisted a carpenter to build 28 replicas of government-issued coffins, each equipped with false bottoms to conceal the heroin​. His key partner in the operation Leslie “Ike” Atkinson,a former US Army Sergeant married to Luca’s cousin, stated that the coffin smuggling claim was fabricated. In 2008, Atkinson told the Toronto Star, “It is a total lie that’s fueled by Frank Lucas for personal gain,”. “I never had anything to do with transporting heroin in coffins or cadavers.” According to Atkinson, the heroin was actually hidden in furniture rather than inside coffins, as Lucas had claimed.

Lucas on cars, clothing, jewelry, and entertainment. He also claimed he socialized with celebrities like Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, James Brown, and Diana Ross.He claimed to be earning $1 million a day, with $52 million stashed in Cayman Islands banks and $300 million worth of heroin stockpiled.

Lucas owned various properties, including office buildings in Detroit, a large cattle ranch in North Carolina, and apartments in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Puerto Rico. In 1975, he was convicted on federal and state drug charges and sentenced to seventy years in prison. 

He served less than seven years because he became a state’s witness and turned on his associates, helping authorities to bring down dozens of other drug dealers and corrupt police officials.

Education

At age 12, Combs moved to Mount Vernon, New York, where he attended Mount Saint Michael Academy, an all-boys Catholic school. He was an altar boy until 1987. In 1988, a Roman Catholic priest and gay activist Bernard J. Lynch and Marist brother Timothy Brady were charged with raping students at the school after other teachers reported them to the FBI. 
Combs attended Howard University in Washington D.C. as a business administration student from 1987 to 1989 and dropped out for unknown reasons. In 2014, Combs was invited alongside other celebrities as a commencement ceremony speaker where he was given an honorary degree. In 2024, the Howard University Board of Trustees voted unanimously to remove Combs from official university documents. They rescinded the degree, terminated a $1 million gift agreement that Combs arranged in 2016 and disbanded his foundation and scholarship program. While the university was quick to distance itself from Combs, Bill Cosby, who was convicted of rape in 2018 and accused by more than 60 victims, still holds an honorary degree from Howard awarded to him in 1989.

The 1990’s

Uptown Records

In 1990, at age 20,  Combs was recruited as an intern to Uptown Records by CEO Andre Harrel. Harrell also tapped Kim Porter as an assistant to handle a variety of affairs as the budding label signed Heavy D as its first act. Combs was assigned to handle young artists like Mary J. Blige and the R&B group Jodeci. 

Liza Gardner

In 1990, 16 year old Liza Gardner and her friend were invited to New York by close friends from the R&B group Jodeci, who introduced them to Combs. Gardner filed a lawsuit in November, 2024 in the New York Supreme Court, where she testified that Combs, along with R&B singer Aaron Hall, raped her after they met at a party hosted by MCA Records in Manhattan. “While at Hall’s apartment, Gardner was offered more drinks and was coerced into having sex with Combs,” the suit says. “After Combs finished doing his business, Liza Gardner laid in bed, shocked and traumatized.” While she was trying to get dressed, Hall allegedly “barged into the room, pinned her down, and forced Liza Gardner to have sex with him,” the suit says. Following the assaults, she got dressed and ran from the home, according to the lawsuit. “Upon information and belief, when Combs finished with Liza Gardner, he and Hall switched, and they commenced assaulting Liza Gardner’s friend,” the lawsuit says. The next day Combs tracked Gardner down and assaulted and choked her until she almost passed out in order to intimidate her.  Combs was allegedly looking for her friend because he feared she would tell the “girl he was with at the time.” Gardner says her life has been “overwhelmed by depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and strained relationships with men” since the incident. 

In 2023 Gardner filed a lawsuit against Combs, Hall, Universal Music Group, MCA and Uptown Records. Her friend is not named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Another friend of Gardner’s testified that Gardner had told her details of the assault in 2019. Gardner’s former therapist wrote a letter confirming that Gardner had told her in 2014 she’d been raped by two men in New York at age 16. UMG Recordings, parent company of MCA, challenged Liza Gardner’s lawsuit, arguing she didn’t qualify for New York’s Adult Survivors Act as she was under 18 during the alleged rapes. 

Joi Dickerson 

In November 2023, Joi Dickerson Neal filed a lawsuit in the Manhattan Supreme Court, stating that Combs drugged and raped her on January 3rd, 1991, when she was a student at Syracuse University studying psychology. According to the suit, while she was reluctantly on a date with Combs at Wells Restaurant in Harlem, he spiked her drink when she was in the restroom. After leaving the restaurant, she testified that he transported her to two other locations, a recording studio and then his home, where he raped her. She suffered severe pelvic pain from the assault but was too traumatized to seek medical attention or report the incident to the police. Combs secretly recorded the rape without her knowledge or consent. 

DeVanté Swing, a mutual friend and the main songwriter and producer of the R&B group Jodeci, told her that Combs had shown him the tape. When she asked who else had seen the footage, DeVanté replied, “Everyone.” DeVanté allegedly expressed a desire to testify against Diddy but was afraid of jeopardizing Jodeci’s record deal, as Diddy was the band’s representative at the time. According to Dickerson’s lawsuit, DeVanté was willing to overlook her rape to protect his own career interests. 

Deadly Charity 

In December 1991, Combs was tasked with organizing a charity basketball event billed as a benefit for AIDS education. The event featured a star-studded lineup, including Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Heavy D, Big Daddy Kane, and Run-DMC. Combs organized the event in a basement gym designed for only 2,500 people, but it was attended by at least 5,000. The event ended after a stampede that left 9 dead and at least 29 others injured by an impatient crowd that tried to push their way in.

Officials cited both the lack of planning and the failure to hire enough security guards as contributing to the disaster. They blamed numerous organizers and participants, including crowd members, as well as Combs, the rapper Heavy D and the City University of New York. A report prepared for the office of then-mayor David N. Dinkins said, “Mr. Combs spent little time making the actual preparation for the game and delegated most, if not all, of the arrangements to Louis Tucker and Tara Geter—both of whom claimed to have no prior experience with such events.”

None of the actions of those involved were deemed to be criminal, and no charges were filed. Later, Combs reached out-of-court settlements from civil suits filed by the families of victims. 

Start of Bad Boy Records

In July 1993, Combs was fired from Uptown Records. By the end of the year, he had founded his own record label, Bad Boy Records. Its first signee was The Notorious B.I.G., whom Combs had discovered while at Uptown Records, and the label’s first release was Biggie’s 1994 breakout debut album, Ready to Die. Throughout the decade, Bad Boy Records grew in both popularity and notoriety, launching the careers of artists like Craig Mack, Mase, The Lox, Faith Evans, and others.

In 1994, Kirk Burrowes, co-founder and former president of Bad Boy Records, witnessed Combs attacking a woman in the label’s office. According to a former employee, she and Burrowes had to “tear Combs off a woman” after hearing her screams and the sound of shattering glass.

Felicia Newsome, the first manager of Bad Boy’s recording studio, recounted an incident where she had to physically restrain Diddy from attacking a woman during a fight between two women. Newsome recalled holding him by the waist and telling him, “You need to calm down. This is not your fight.”

Tupac and Biggie murder

In the mid-1990s, tensions between the East Coast and West Coast hip-hop scenes reached a boiling point, largely fueled by the rivalry between Bad Boy Records, led by Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Death Row Records, run by Marion “Suge” Knight. The tensions further escalated when both camps hired gang members from the Crips and Bloods as their security detail, intertwining the ongoing gang war with their companies. Combs, who had ties to the South Side Compton Crips through his Harlem associate Eric “Von Zip” Martin, leveraged these connections for protection during the volatile feud with Knight, who was associated with the Bloods.

Martin was a prominent figure in Harlem’s underworld for decades. He had deep connections with East Coast organized crime and up-and-coming figures nationwide. He drove a bulletproof Mercedes and ran offices on both coasts. Martin introduced Combs to the Southside Crips who Combs hired as bodyguards. This connection proved vital during the war between Combs and Knight, as the Crips provided security for Bad Boy Records against Death Row’s Blood-affiliated bodyguards. Although his specific contributions to Bad Boy Records remain unclear, Martin co-executive produced records and was involved in music projects with Combs’ associates, including Jimmy Henchman and Barry Hankerson. 

The Crips are one of the largest and most violent street gangs in the United States, with an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 members in 2008. The gang has been heavily involved in crimes such as murders, robberies, and drug dealing, and has a long-standing rivalry with the Bloods. After the Nicaraguan Revolution in 1979, many members of the former Somoza government fled to the U.S. and were allegedly supported by the CIA in efforts to counter communism. Enrique Bermúdez, picked by the CIA to lead the Contras, reportedly met with Oscar Danilo Blandón and Norwin Meneses to discuss using drug trafficking as a way to raise funds, allegedly targeting black communities in South Los Angeles.

The Crips’ influence grew significantly during the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s that gave rise to Colombian and Mexican cartels. Their distribution of the drug allowed the gang to expand into new markets across the U.S., steadily increasing their membership. By the late 1980s, the Crips had become one of the largest street gangs in the country, with at least 600 sets and over 30,000 members by 1999. This drug-fueled expansion contributed to a gang war that left thousands dead and many more addicted to narcotics.

 Harris, Donnie (October 2004). Gangland. Holy Fire. ISBN 9780976111245.

On September 7, 1996 the tension between Combs and Knight culminated with the assassination Tupac Shakur. After attending the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon fight in Las Vegas, Shakur and Knight ran into Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, a reputed Crips member who was affiliated with Bad Boy Records, in the MGM Grand lobby. Shakur and Knight confronted and beat Anderson, who had allegedly previously attempted to steal a Death Row Records pendant. This fight triggered a retaliation plan by Anderson’s uncle, Crips Southside’s leader Duane “Keefe D” Davis, and his crew. Later that night, they spotted Shakur and Knight driving along the Las Vegas Strip, where Shakur was fatally shot and Knight sustained injuries.

In 2023, Southside Crips gang affiliate Denvonta Lee, testified to a grand jury that it was Deandre “Big Dre” Smith, not Anderson, who killed Shakur.“When [Davis] passed the firearm to Orlando, Orlando didn’t have a clear shot,” Lee told the grand jury. “Big Dre is six-six. At this time he’s 370, 400.  He’s big. And you’re not going to be able to lean over a big guy like that and get — I mean, my time of knowing things, doing — you’re not going to reach over like that because shells would have been popping all in Big Dre’s face and all kind of stuff. He can’t bend down or anything, he’s too big.” 

When questioned about the identity of the shooter, Denonta Lee testified to the grand jury, stating unequivocally, “He did the shooting,” referring to Smith. Lee recounted a conversation with Smith that occurred days after Shakur’s murder, in which Smith admitted that he had taken the gun from Orlando Anderson, fired the shots, and then allowed Anderson to take the credit for Shakur’s death to boost Anderson’s street reputation.

The Compton Police Department (LAPD), Las Vegas Metropolitan Police (LVMPD) and FBI conducted an early morning raid in Compton in October 2,1996, detaining dozens of Crip and Blood gang members. According to the search warrant, the police were trying to stop a gang war sparked by Shakur’s murder. The police alleged that some of the Crips arrested in that sweep had been employed as bodyguards for Bad Boy Records. Davis said he obtained the murder weapon, a .4 caliber Glock from Eric “Von Zip” Martin. After the shooting, Davis stated that Combs owed him and his crew money. “I knew we was like, ‘Damn, we can get paid now,’. A few months after the killing, Davis said he met with Martin at a restaurant in Los Angeles seeking his payment. Martin promised to check with Combs and have the payment sent to them, but Martin never followed through.

In September 29, 2023, Davis was charged with orchestrating the murder of Tupac Shakur. During a police interview, homicide detective Dan Long asked Davis, “Puffy Combs. Does he play a role in this thing?”. Davis stated that Combs solicited him to kill both Marion “Suge” Knight and Tupac Shakur. According to a 2008 DEA and U.S. Department of Justice report, Davis stated that Combs said he “needed to get rid of Knight and Shakur” and offered him $1 million to “handle the problem.” Davis related that Combs had said of Knight, “I’d give anything for that dude[‘s] head.” Davis also referenced the rivalry between Shakur and Combs, stating that Shakur had insulted Combs, calling him derogatory names. According to a grand jury exhibit, after Shakur’s murder, Combs asked Davis, “Is that us?” The filing notes: “Sean Combs reached out to the defendant [Davis] wondering if the South Side Crips were responsible for Shakur’s death.” Davis, reportedly beaming with pride, replied, “Yes.”

Out of the four individuals in the car with Shakur’s shooter, only Davis remains alive. Anderson, who denied involvement in Shakur’s killing, was killed in 1998 in what police said was an unrelated shooting at a Compton car wash. Smith, who witnesses say was the actual shooter, died in 2004 at age 30 of natural causes, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. Terrence “Bubble Up” Brown, the driver of the car, was killed in a 2015 shooting at a medical marijuana dispensary in Compton. 

Despite years of speculation and a cold case, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reopened the investigation, leading to Davis’ arrest in 2023. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is set for November 4, 2024. A public information officer for the LVMPD told reporters that “Sean Combs has never been considered a suspect in the Tupac Shakur homicide investigation,” and he has never been charged in connection with the murder. Reflecting on the events years later, Davis expressed regret, saying, “I wish I never met Puff Daddy, period, I swear to God. He messed up my life, man. I was rich, up under the radar, all that, man. It’s all gone.”

In March 1997, six months after Shakur was murdered, Christopher “Biggie Smalls” “the Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace was killed in an LA drive-by after leaving a party organized by Combs. Wallace attended a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, where he was surrounded by fans, celebrities, and both the Crips and Bloods, including Duane “Keffe D” Davis and Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson. Tensions among the rival gangs were evident, but the party continued without incident despite overcrowding and the presence of gang members. As the party neared its conclusion, with LAPD reluctant to disband the party at request of the fire marshal, Wallace and his entourage left the venue around midnight. Witnesses at the party told police they saw Davis approach Combs, asking if he needed security. The witnesses then saw him approach Wallace, who told his bodyguard to let him through, saying, “He’s cool. I know him.” 

After a 40 minute delay, Wallace’s group reached the valet stand where they waited for their SUVs. As they decided to head back to their hotel, Combs jumped into the first of three vehicles with several bodyguards, while Wallace settled into the front passenger seat of the second car, a green GMC Suburban, alongside his driver, Gregory “G-Money” Young, with two friends seated in the back. The third vehicle seated more bodyguards to follow behind them. Combs’ lead SUV sped through a yellow light, leaving Wallace’s group waiting at the intersection of Wilshire Blvd and Fairfax Ave where they were ambushed. A white Toyota Land Cruiser made a U-turn and tried to fit into the space behind the green Suburban. Simultaneously, a dark Chevy Impala pulled up beside Wallace’s vehicle. The driver, who was described as an African American man dressed in a blue suit and bowtie, made eye contact with Wallace before reaching over and firing multiple rounds from an automatic pistol into the car. Biggie was hit four times, with the final bullet piercing multiple vital organs. In the aftermath, Combs raced across the street to the green Suburban, where he found Wallace, slumped over, bleeding on the dashboard, and unresponsive. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Eric “Zip” Martin was allegedly present at both crime scenes: with Foxy Brown at the MGM when Tupac was shot and with Keyshawn Johnson on Fairfax Avenue just before Biggie was killed.

Several former colleagues and friends of Wallace, including photographer Monique Bunn recounted in an interview with Rolling Stone that Wallace confided in her about his plans to leave Combs. “[Wallace] was absolutely about to leave Puff,” she said. “I know for a fact [because] he told me that.” Wallace’s legal team attempted to recover his publishing rights, but Diddy refused to relinquish control. Following Wallace’s murder, Combs capitalized on the killing, pushing his team to expedite the release of Wallace’s album, Life After Death, just one week after the funeral, ensuring it would soar to the top of the charts. Combs also dismissed suggestions to feature Wallace on the cover of Rolling Stone. Kirk Burrowes, co-founder and president of Bad Boy Records, told Rolling Stone that he fought for Wallace to be honoured on the cover instead. “I was telling Sean, ‘Let’s make it Biggie. You still have a chance [for a cover in the future],’” “He’s like, ‘No, he’s dead. I’m putting out [Combs’ debut album, No Way Out] in July. I need to be on the cover of Rolling Stone.’”

Former LAPD detective Gary Kading said the Wallace murder case was solved but couldn’t be prosecuted because too many of the witnesses were dead by the time anyone came forward. Phil Carson, a retired FBI agent who worked the case for two years, claimed Wallace was shot dead by Nation of Islam member Amir Muhammad. “All the evidence points to Amir Muhammad. He’s the one who pulled the trigger,” “There were plenty of others who helped orchestrate it and allowed him to pull the trigger.” Carson further described the alleged cover-up as “the biggest miscarriage of justice in my 20-year career at the FBI.” He added, “I had evidence that LAPD officers were involved, but I was shut down by both the LAPD and city attorneys in Los Angeles.” 

Carson and film producer Don Sikorski, whose 2018 film City of Lies chronicles the Wallace murder and investigation, believes “All the answers are in black and white.”Sikorski claimed that both he and the film’s director, Brad Furman, have seen sealed court documents that contain overwhelming evidence. The sealed documents are from a civil suit filed by Wallace’s family against the LAPD in 2002, which reportedly contain critical details about the murder.

A 2003 FBI report supports Carson’s claims, outlining that “Amir Muhammad, AKA Harry Billups, the godparent to LAPD Officer David Mack’s two children, has been identified by several sources as the trigger man.” Mack, a known corrupt officer, was a registered owner of a black 1995 Chevrolet Impala, which witnesses identified as the vehicle used in Wallace’s murder. LAPD officers David Mack and Rafael Perez were both allegedly involved in Wallace’s murder and linked to Knight through Death Row Records. Mack was convicted of an unrelated 1997 bank robbery just months after the murder, a crime that many believe was connected to the financing of Wallace’s execution. Carson contends that both Mack and Perez were deeply involved in orchestrating the hit and were protected by a wider conspiracy within the LAPD. Despite the overwhelming evidence, including eyewitness testimony and financial records, Amir Muhammad has never been charged. Now 61, Muhammad is believed to be living in Georgia under his real name, Harry Billups, and working as a real estate broker. Mack, who served time for the bank robbery, has denied involvement in the murder. Carson believes the case remains a glaring example of corruption and unpunished crime.

Carson emphasized his determination to bring justice to Wallace’s family and the public: “I knew one day I was going to tell the truth. What I went through at the time from the LAPD was sheer hell.” Both Carson and Sikorski have called for law enforcement officials to review the sealed evidence and bring the case to a resolution. Carson claimed Combs was the real target. Carson shared this information with Combs, who was “pretty freaked out” upon learning that he was the original mark.

April Lampros 

In 1995, Combs attacked and raped April Lampros, according to a lawsuit she filed in 2023. She was a fashion student at the time and Combs offered to mentor her. After plying her with alcohol  at a SoHo bar, he took her to his room at the Millennium Hotel, where she felt disoriented and unable to defend herself as he raped her. Lampros says she woke up “nude, sore, and confused.” Months later, Diddy contacted her again, luring her with music industry opportunities. Believing the first incident was a mistake, she gave him a second chance. He proceeded to rape her again on four separate occasions. When she tried to reject him, he began calling her incessantly and threatened to blacklist her in the industry, adopting what she described as a “mobster persona.”

In 1996, Combs ordered Lampros to his apartment, where she met Kim Porter. Combs drugged both her and Porter, then forced them to rape each other while he masturbated and then raped her again according to the lawsuit. April stated she ended their relationship in 1998 but later was harassed by Kim Porter at a restaurant where she was working. According to the lawsuit, Porter falsely accused April of trying to poison her and threatened the restaurant owner, claiming Diddy would shut down the business if she wasn’t fired. April was subsequently fired. 

In late 2000 or early 2001, while Combs was dating Jennifer Lopez, he and April Lampros had a brief conversation before going to her apartment. There, Combs attempted to rape her again, violently grabbing her and forcing himself onto her. However, she managed to fight him off, and he left. 

In 2023, someone told her then-boyfriend they had seen a video of her having sex with Diddy. In the lawsuit, Lampros revealed that Diddy secretly recorded the rape without her consent and has shown the video to multiple people. She is suing Combs for battery, rape, infliction of emotional distress and gender-motivated violence. She also lists Bad Boy Records, Arista and Sony Music Entertainment as defendants for enabling him to commit the crimes.

April Lampros’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, is representing multiple clients in cases against Combs. In addition to Lampros, he is also representing Rodney Jones and Liza Gardner in lawsuits filed against Combs late last year, and Grace O’Marcaigh, who has sued Diddy and Kim Porter’s son, Christian Combs, for attempted rape.

Jennifer Lopez

On December 27, 1999, Combs was arrested following a shooting at a New York City nightclub. At the time, Combs was accompanied by his bodyguard, Anthony “Wolf” Jones, Moses “Shyne” Barrow, and his then girlfriend, Jennifer “JLo” Lopez. The incident began when Combs knocked a drink from a man’s hand after someone tossed money in the mogul’s direction. It ended in gunfire, leaving three people injured.  Lopez joined Combs, Shyne, and Jones in fleeing. The police gave chase and they were pulled over a short distance away. The police found a stolen gun in the car in which Combs and Lopez were fleeing. Both were arrested and initially charged with criminal possession of stolen property. 

In Februrary 2024, Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr. filed a civil lawsuit against Sean Combs and actor Cuba Gooding Jr. for sexual assault and harassment. In the lawsuit, Jones claimed that Combs had “displayed his guns and bragged about getting away with shooting people,” Jones further testified that Combs admitted to being responsible for the nightclub shooting in New York City involving Barrow. Additionally, Jones claimed that  Jennifer Lopez “carried the firearm into the club for him and passed him the gun after he got into an altercation with another individual.” This allegation came amid a broader wave of accusations, including a civil lawsuit filed in November by Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, who accused him of rape, sex trafficking, and physical abuse. In that lawsuit, Cassie  stated that Combs also made her hold his firearms.

One of the nightclub victims, Natania Reuben later told reporters, “We all had to go and speak at the grand jury. JLo testified at the grand jury, as did many other people. The criminal case needs to be reopened, because if that is in fact the case, she carried the gun in and she lied to the grand jury. It needs to be reopened.” Reuben also pointed out the inconsistency in security measures that night, alleging that a bouncer at the club refused to allow her to bring a rattail comb into the establishment while actual weapons were allowed inside.

Natania Reuben

Natania Reuben, one of the victims of the nightclub shooting, testified she was willing to have “a doctor remove part of the 9 mm bullet in my face so they can use it as evidence.” He maintains that Combs was the one who shot her that night. “I watched him,” Reuben testified. “I saw him with my own eyes.” Reuben’s testimony was supported by the surgeon who had saved her life at St. Vincent’s Hospital. He recounted to the jury what Reuben had been screaming: “Puffy shot me!” Despite the testimony, the surgeon had been unable to remove all the bullet fragments without endangering Reuben’s life, leaving investigators without enough evidence to make a ballistics match with the recovered pistol.

Reuben described the lasting effects of the shooting, saying, “I’ve faced numerous issues, including a traumatic brain injury, as the bullet left scars on my brain.” However, she expressed that the most painful aspect was the belief that Combs’ fame and wealth allowed him to evade justice. As Combs built his fortune, Reuben felt that his acquittal made him believe he was untouchable. Despite this, she remained vocal, asserting, “I’ve always made it clear—there was never any doubt that he shot me in the face.”

Moses Barrow

Combs also faced bribery charges, as he allegedly offered the driver of the car $50,000 to claim ownership of the gun. Combs was ultimately acquitted of all charges. His co-defendant, Moses “Shyne” Barrow, born Jamal Barrow,was charged with five offenses, including first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a weapon. While the charges against Lopez were dropped overnight, Combs, Jones, and Barrow went to trial. Both Combs and Barrow faced multiple charges. The charges against Combs and Jones were eventually dropped. Barrow was acquitted of attempted murder but served ten years in prison for his other charges. The former rapper had just released his debut album and was on the verge of rising high in the rap world.  After his release from prison in 2009, Barrow was deported to Belize, his home country, where his father, Dean Barrow, was prime minister. Barrow followed his father into politics, and in 2020, was elected to Belize’s House of Representatives. 

No one was ever convicted for the actual shooting. In 2024, Barrow told an interviewer while discussing the 1999 shooting and most recent arrest of Combs, “I was defending him, and he turned around and called witnesses to testify against me,” “Let us not lose sight of what the cold, hard facts are.” “This is someone who destroyed my life, but do I take any joy or satisfaction for what he’s going through?” he added. “Absolutely not.”

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18. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sean-diddy-combs-accused-third-lawsuit-week-sexually-assaulting-woman-rcna126564
19. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sean-diddy-combs-accused-another-woman-sexual-assault-abuse-rcna126521
20. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/11/23/diddy-second-lawsuit-rape-revenge-porn-drugging-accusations/71688206007/
21. https://www.thedailybeast.com/remembering-diddys-deadly-stampede-30-years-before-travis-scotts-astroworld-tragedy
22. https://www.cjr.org/first_person/before-diddy-sean-combs-first-scandal-stampede-ccny-city-college-deaths.php
23. https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/16/nyregion/the-crush-at-city-college-an-inquiry-spreads-blame-for-deaths-at-a-new-york-gym.html
24. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/24/nyregion/rap-producer-testifies-on-fatal-stampede-at-city-college.html
25. https://apnews.com/article/tupac-shakur-suge-knight-witness-vegas-shooting-547617626a0051421b59ae4bde9c5953
26. https://drgnews.com/2024/08/28/tupac-shakurs-long-unsolved-killing-again-under-spotlight-as-las-vegas-police-conduct-search/
27. https://people.com/tupac-shakur-murder-suspect-once-claimed-sean-diddy-combs-was-involved-in-ordering-hit-on-rapper-and-suge-knight-8682670
28. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/tupac-shakur-murder-untold-story-3-decades-make/story?id=108562433
29. https://nypost.com/2021/05/29/ex-fbi-agent-biggie-filmmakers-sealed-court-docs-reveal-killer/
30. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13921827/Notorious-BIG-murder-detective-Greg-Kading-Diddy-true-character.html
31. https://vault.fbi.gov/Christopher%20%28Biggie%20Smalls%29%20Wallace%20
32. https://www.tmz.com/2024/05/23/diddy-lawsuit-sued-sexual-assault-battery-april-lampros/
33. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/rapper-shyne-sean-diddy-combs-arrest-nightclub-shooting-1236006986/
34. https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2024/03/31/why-the-1999-shooting-where-diddy-and-jennifer-lopez-were-arrested-has-new-attention/
35. https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/dec/28/usgunviolence.usa
36. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/28/nyregion/rap-performer-puffy-combs-is-arrested-after-shootings-at-times-sq-nightclub.html