A security guard is currently testifying in the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial.
Eddy Garcia, the security supervisor at the InterContinental hotel in L.A. in 2016, has taken the witness stand on Tuesday (June 3).
He invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, and was offered an immunity deal to protect him from prosecution so long as he was honest.
During the testimony, he explained what happened with the video that eventually leaked online of Diddy beating then-girlfriend Cassie, for which the music mogul later issued a public apology.
Keep reading to find out more…
During testimony, the said he didn’t initially recognize the two stars when watching the video of the March 2016 assault at the InterContinental hotel, per NBC News.
He told the court that he was later notified of their identities. He said law enforcement was not contacted and was told that Cassie did not request medical attention or police.
Diddy‘s former chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, then asked for the tape, per testimony.
When she asked for the tape, the witness told her he didn’t have the authority to produce the footage. He then told her to get a subpoena.
A call to his personal cellphone number had him nervous, he said, and Diddy repeatedly told him he could help regarding the footage of him assaulting Cassie.
Kristina Khorram first made the call, but Diddy eventually got on the phone himself and said the video would ruin his career.
The witness explained on the call that he did not have access to the server room where the original video was and could not help. Diddy offered to take care of him for the video, which the witness said he believed to mean financially. He testified that Diddy desperately wanted a copy of surveillance footage, and it had to be the “only copy,” because he didn’t want it getting out.
The witness said he talked to his boss, who was willing to do it for $50,000.
He testified that he expressed concerns about selling the only copy of the 2016 assault video, especially if Cassie had filed a police report.
He told the court that he ended up on a FaceTime call with the couple. Diddy told Cassie to tell the security staffer she also wanted the video to go away, he testified.
Cassie then said it wasn’t a good time for the video to come out and wanted it gone.
As part of the deal, he signed a non-disclosure agreement that called for the security officer’s silence and destruction of evidence. According to the NDA presented in court, there were to be no duplicates of footage or stored communications about the incident.
When asked if he read through everything before signing, he said, “No, I was nervous.”
After the hotel security signed NDAs, the security told the court that Diddy left and returned to the room with a brown paper bag and a money counter. He put stacks of money on the counter, $10,000 at a time, until it reached a total of $100,000.
According to Eddy, the original deal for the video with his boss was $50,000, but Diddy said the excess cash was for the other two security guards.
The witness was making $10.50 an hour as a security guard, and agreed to an NDA that included a $1 million penalty if he breached it. He received $100,000 for himself and two other employees for helping Diddy keep the video under wraps.
He also told the court that Diddy asked him if he wanted to count the money he was getting from the video sale and asked how he intended to spend it.
He explained that he didn’t know what he’d use the $30,000 he was getting from the deal. Diddy then warned him not to make any big purchases, he testified.
The hotel security guard said he assumed Diddy was advising against drawing attention to the money. He added that he didn’t deposit any of the cash into the bank and used the money to buy a used car.
Diddy had kind words for the security guard after the deal, Eddy testified.
“On Easter, he said, ‘Happy Easter my angel, God is good,’ and then proceeded to ask if anyone had asked about the incident or the video,” he testified. “I said I hadn’t heard anything and he said, ‘OK.’”
He said he later asked Diddy about employment possibilities with the defendant’s company.
When police began asking about the March 2016 assault at the InterContinental hotel, Eddy said he wasn’t initially honest with investigators.
He testified that he was contacted by law enforcement and wasn’t truthful about his involvement at first. He later got his own attorney and met with the government, where he said he was more honest.
See everything that happened in the trial so far.
Source: justjared.com