This story may contain accounts and descriptions of actual or alleged events that some readers may find disturbing.
Scott Mescudi aka rapper Kid Cudi took the witness stand Thursday in the sex trafficking and racketeering trial again Sean “Diddy” Combs.
He testified about an alleged break-in at his home in December 2011, when he was in a romantic relationship with Cassie Ventura while she was still in a relationship with Combs.
“I got a call from Cassie around 5:30-6 a.m. She told me that Sean Combs had found out about us. I was confused but she asked me to pick her up. She sounded really stressed on the phone, scared, nervous. So I went to go pick her up,” Mescudi testified.
Mescudi told the court that he took Ventura to the Sunset Marquis hotel, where, he testified, Combs’ assistant called, informing him that “Sean Combs was in my house” and she “was forced to go along,” referring to the assistant.
Mescudi testified that he drove to his house at the time and called Combs while on the way, asking him if he was in his house and requesting to talk.
When he arrived at home, Mescudi testified that he saw “some gifts I had bought for my family were opened” and that his “dog was locked up in my bathroom.”
Mescudi said he again called Combs and asked where he was.
Mescudi testified that he thought, “I don’t know who he has with him, what his intentions are” so he opted to call the police, who came to the house and took a report about the break-in.
Mescudi also told the court that in 2012 he received an early-morning phone call that “my car was on fire.”
The jury saw photos of Mescudi’s damaged Porsche, including the blackened interior door and the charred, melted driver’s seat.
Arson is among the predicate acts in the racketeering conspiracy count Combs faces. Ventura previously testified that Combs allegedly threatened to have Cudi’s car blown up after learning of her relationship with him.
Mescudi testified that he and Combs arranged to meet at the SoHo House social club in Los Angeles, where he saw Combs “standing there staring out the window with his hands behind his back, like a Marvel supervillain.”
“We discussed the whole story about how me and Cassie first started to date to what it was to how it ended,” Mescudi testified.
Mescudi told the court that Combs’ demeanor during their meeting was “very calm,” which Mescudi found “off-putting.”
Mescudi testified that when the meeting ended, they shook hands and he asked, “What are we going to do about my car?’”
“He looked right back at me, very cold stare, and said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’’’ Mescudi told the court.
Mescudi testified that he withdrew his hand, whereupon Combs asked, “I thought we were cool. Do we have a problem?” Mescudi testified that he confirmed that Combs was giving his word that he didn’t burn his car.
Mescudi told the jury that he thought Combs “was lying” when he claimed not to know about the firebombing of his car.
Mescudi told the court that a couple of years later, he saw Combs again at the SoHo House in Los Angeles and Combs apologized “for everything, all that b*******.’”
“After I got the apology I found peace with it. That was the last thing I was suspecting to get from him,” Mescudi testified.
On cross-examination, Mescudi testified that Ventura told him about Combs’ alleged physical abuse but did not mention sexual abuse.
On re-direct examination, Mescudi testified that Ventura told him that Combs “would hit her, sometimes kick her.”
Mescudi told the court that he and Ventura broke up because “things were getting out of hand,” and that he felt concerned for his and her safety.
“I knew Sean Combs was violent,” Mescudi testified, prompting an objection and a sidebar.
Tune in to Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy twice weekly for real-time updates on the trial.
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