Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former bodyguard claims music mogul sacrificed bird before 1999 NYC shooting verdict
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former bodyguard, Gene Deal, recently revealed in a new documentary that the music mogul sacrificed a bird for good luck before his NYC shooting verdict in 1999.
Deal said in the new Hulu documentary about the case, 'The Honorable Shyne', that Diddy was being driven to the courthouse in Manhattan when he stopped in Central Park to meet a mysterious man with a caged bird, per the New York Post.
Gene Deal reveals Diddy sacrified bird before 1999 NYC shooting verdict
Gene Deal used Diddy's nickname in the documentary and said, "When Puff got close to the guy, he just dropped down to his knees. Next thing I see, is this smoke just going back and forth around Puff. I guess it was sage or something like that."
Deal further mentioned in the documentary that the man held a Bible as he put a hand on Diddy and told him to take the bird out of the cage.
Deal continued, "Puff took this white bird and threw it up in the air … The bird just fell to the ground, boom, like it was a brick. I was like, ‘Oh, s***!"
He added, "The bird died, man … the bird didn’t even move. [Combs] just walked away from him real quick."
Combs continued to court after the seemingly ominous ritual and was acquitted of all charges, including weapons possession and attempted bribery, after a seven-week trial, per the outlet.
Diddy's lawyers want music mogul's shackles removed for all hearings
Combs is seeking permission to appear in court unshackled for his upcoming hearing and future court proceedings. His attorney filed a late-night motion on Monday, November 18, and requested that the United States Marshals Service allow him to attend court without restraints, according to PEOPLE.
Attorney Marc Agnifilo stated in the motion, "We write on behalf of our client, Mr Sean Combs, to respectfully request that the Court direct the United States Marshals Service to unshackle Mr Combs prior to bringing him into the courtroom for tomorrow's hearing and for all future court appearances."
Agnifilo referred to an earlier incident on October 10, where Combs appeared in leg shackles without justification. He also expressed that presenting Diddy in shackles during court proceedings creates a "paramount concern" regarding the potential for "juror bias", per the outlet.
He wrote, "Given the press attention on the pretrial proceedings in this case, there is a substantial risk that potential jurors will learn about the shackling through the media and develop such a bias."
Diddy accused of breaking prison rules
Diddy has reportedly been accused of recruiting family members to orchestrate a social media campaign to sway jurors. Reports suggested that Diddy not only tried to influence jurors around his 55th birthday but is also accused of contacting outsiders from prison, according to TMZ.
According to court documents, which were filed on Friday, November 15, Diddy is being accused of using other inmates' phone access. He is also accused of repeatedly using a "non-authorized third-party messaging service" called ContactMeASAP, which makes three-way calls, to communicate with multiple people.
Notably, it is "designed to evade" law as is not authorized by BOP [the Bureau of Prisons] because it helps conceal the identities of the contacted individuals, as per a detailed report obtained from court documents by People.
