What you're about to hear is a recreated reading of the day one transcript from the Shaun Diddy Combmes trial. Source: courtroom reporter at Inner City Press on X. All parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Listen at your own discretion. During the former hotel security guard's testimony, here's how it all went down between him, the prosecution, and the defense from beginning to end. To clear up who is who.
A USA is the prosecution. Flores is the former security guard who worked at the hotel where the 2016 Cassie video took place. and Steel is the defense attorney for Shaun Diddy Combmes.
We call LAPD officer Israel Flores. He is sworn. I'm also a reservist for the army.
I was a guard with Securitas in 2016 at the Intercontinental Hotel near Century City. What happened on March 5th, 2016? I was told of an incident on the sixth floor.
There I recognized Shawn Combmes. He was wearing a gray sweater. What was your title?
Assistant director of security. Let me show you a photo of the Intercontinental Hotel. It's shaped like a pyramid.
What kind of incidents did you respond to? All kinds. We had a couple of suic there.
We'd prepare incident reports, the five W's. Would you attach photos to the reports? Yes, but not video.
We did not have the password. When did this incident take place? At 11:00 a.
m. , I got a report of a woman in distress on the sixth floor. I closed the security base, checked the cameras.
There was an African-Amean man pacing. I didn't see a woman, so I rushed upstairs. What did you see on the sixth floor?
Mr Combmes was in a towel and colored socks. He's a rapper producer. And Cassie was on the floor.
Let me show you photos. This is where the court were shown a photo of Combmes in a tuxedo. And in a separate photo, Cassie Ventura smiling.
What did you tell them? I told them if they were arguing, they'd have to take it back to their room and that the broken vase would be charged to the room. Cassie said she wanted her phone and her bag.
Cassie said she wanted to leave. Mr Combmes said, "You're not leaving. " I saw a male black in a dark clothing inside the room.
What did Mr Combmes do after Cassie left? He called me over holding a stack of money asking me not to tell anyone. And what did you say?
I said, "I don't want your money. The damage is charged to your room. " Where did Cassie go?
After I spoke with her, she left. A car pulled up. She left in a black SUV.
Was there a driver? Yes, there was. And he said, "She wants to leave.
" Then I said, "I'm talking to her, not you. " They left. Then what?
We went up to Mr Comb's room to remind him of hotel rules. He opens the door and grabs the phone and says, "Are you recording me? " I pinned him to the wall.
I took photos of the broken vase to tell them to come clean it up. I went to write the incident report. Is this it?
My report with my name on it. Then did you review the video? Yes.
I'm handing you a thumb drive with videos. This is where the court was shown the security footage of the Diddy and Cassie incident. Did it have audio?
No. Let's walk through it. Who is this?
Cassie. And this Mr Combmes. What's happening here?
She picked up the wall phone. What did you find when you got there? The broken vase.
What is at the end of this video? Me coming out of the elevator. Let's pull up the incident report again.
Here, we reminded him that the checkout time was approaching. What did you add to the incident report after you reviewed the video? I described what I saw in the video.
What else did you do with the video? I recorded two videos of it with my iPhone to show my wife at home. Did you work the next day?
No, I had the next two days off. When you came back in, did you look for the video? I did, but it was gone.
Did you ever see it again? Yes, recently. Nothing further.
Now, it's the turn of Diddy's lawyer to question Mr Flores, the hotel security guard. You said your report was the five W's, right? Yes.
You mentioned that when you got off the elevator, 11:14 or 11:15, you describe Mr Combmes as having a devilish expression on his face. That's my opinion. When you get off the elevator, what's in your hand?
My radio. Mr Combmes did not attack you, did he? No.
And was there any law enforcement involvement? No. You videoed for your wife and kept it, right?
I did. But never was law enforcement called. They were not.
You told the jury Mr Combmes said to Cassie, "You're not leaving. " But your report did not say that, right? At that point, I did not believe it was a significant fact.
I'm not going to put down the back and forth. So, it wasn't important 9 years ago, but only now. I did not put it in the report at the time.
You said you were offered a bribe, but hadn't you told him he had to pay for the vase? Yes. The gentleman you say you saw in the room.
You described to the jury things not in your report. He didn't engage. Why didn't you ask him his name?
He wasn't talking to no one. Did you tell anyone at the time? No.
And the 7-ft driver? Do you know who it was? I don't know, but Cassie knew him.
You didn't put in your report that you offered to call law enforcement, but she refused. Why not? She said no.
So, there was no reason to include it. You said you put Mr Combmes against the wall. That's aggressive, isn't it?
It could be, but I only put my forearm against his chest. But you didn't put that in your report. You're asking me to have put more detail in my report.
Do you remember the layout? No, just a corner room. Was it a normal hotel room like I would stay in?
Just one room or did it have a living room? I don't know. Now, as for the third party, you said he was on a bed.
It was a pull out. You were in the hospitality business as well as security, right? Yes.
It was clear to you that Mr Combmes wanted to pay for the damage, right? At this moment, Didd's prosecutors shouted, "Objection. Calls for speculation.
" Which the judge agreed and told Diddy's lawyer, quote, "Ask in a different way. " It can be embarrassing for a guest. At this moment, Diddy's prosecutors shouted, "Objection.
" Which the judge responded with, "Sustained. One moment, nothing further. " At this moment, it was the turn of Diddy's prosecutors to ask Mr Flores the final questions.
Did you typically include every single detail in a report? No. Did he seem drunk or high?
No. When he offered you money, what did he say? That he didn't want anyone to know about it?
Pretty much. Which way was Mr Combmes dragging Cassie back toward the room? Nothing further.
This is where the questioning concluded. Shawn Diddy Combmes just got dragged into some of the most damaging testimony we've heard so far. A former hotel security guard says he found Cassie on the floor, Diddy half naked in a vase in pieces.
Then the surveillance video mysteriously disappeared. Let's break down exactly what happened in court today and where this leaves the case. Prosecutors called LAPD officer Israel Flores, who worked hotel security at LA's Intercontinental back in 2016.
He says at 11:00 a. m. he rushed to the sixth floor, found Cassie Ventura on the ground, a shattered vase, and Diddy in nothing but a towel and socks.
Cassie tells Flores, "I want my phone and my bag. I'm leaving. " Diddy fires back, "You're not leaving.
" Flores claims Diddy waved a stack of cash and basically said, "Keep this quiet. " He refused. Here's the kicker.
Flores records the CCTV on his iPhone, clocks out for 2 days, comes back, and the original video is gone. Prosecutors say that smells like evidence tampering. Prosecution game plan.
Use Flores and the broken vase photos to paint a controlled violence scene. Frame the cash as a straightup bribe. Stress that Diddy was sober, so this was intentional, not drunken chaos.
Defense clapback. Hold up. None of this was in Flores's 2016 report.
No police call, no arrest, and the guard kept the video for his wife. Maybe that cash was just to pay for the vase. Plus, hotel cams are motion triggered, so gaps in the footage igles reasonable doubt.
So, does today move the needle? Absolutely. Jurors now have a live witness who puts Diddy in the room, blocking Cassie's exit, waving money plus a surveillance clip, even if the master file vanished.
But the defense hammered Flores on every detail he didn't write down 9 years ago. Credibility battle just got real. Key questions going forward.
Can prosecutors authenticate Flores's iPhone copy? Will other witnesses back up or blow up his story? Tomorrow, we're expecting a witness who says Cassie paid him for sex while Diddy watched, so buckle up.
Where do you land after hearing this testimony? Solid evidence or shaky story? Drp your take in the comments.
We read everything to keep the coverage sharp. Make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss the next twist. I'll see you after court.
