Sean Diddy Combs is reportedly under suicide watch at present as he awaits trial at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. The 54-year-old music mogul was apprehended on the night of Monday, September 16, at a hotel in Manhattan. The following day, his indictment was unsealed, revealing charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transporting individuals to engage in prostitution.
After pleading not guilty, Combs was denied bail twice and remanded to the MDC on Tuesday, September 17. Although it remains unclear if Combs is indeed suicidal, sources close to the situation state that the suicide watch is a preventive measure as he is reportedly in a state of shock, with his mental condition still uncertain. According to the U.
S. Department of Justice National Institute of Corrections, a suicide watch involves “supervisory precautions taken for suicidal inmates that require frequent observation,” informs People. During a court appearance, Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, petitioned the judge to transfer Combs to a detention facility in Essex County, New Jersey.
However, the final decision rests with the Bureau of Prisons. According to People, The MDC, which houses around 1,600 inmates, many of whom are awaiting trial, has a reputation for being a dangerous and understaffed facility with numerous deaths and suicides. In their plea for bail, Combs’ legal team referenced the facility’s conditions, saying, “several courts in this District have recognised that the conditions at Metropolitan Detention Center are not fit for pre-trial detention,” according to The Daily Beast.
The attorneys also highlighted that “just earlier this summer, an inmate was murdered. At least four inmates have died by suicide there in the past three years.” As for Combs, his indictment includes allegations that he forced victims to participate in “freak offs,” described by prosecutors as “elaborate and produced sex performances.
” He allegedly used his celebrity status, along with drugs such as cocaine, ketamine and oxycodone, to manipulate and intimidate women into joining these acts. Moreover, these “freak offs” were reportedly recorded without the victims’ consent on some occasions, reports People. During raids on his Miami and Los Angeles properties in March, federal authorities confiscated three AR-15 rifles and a thousand bottles of baby oil and lubricant.
Combs is scheduled to appear for another court conference on Tuesday, September 24 at 10 am..
