The judge has denied Diddy’s defense team’s demand for a mistrial. The music executive’s attorneys requested a mistrial on Wednesday, May 28, following a bombshell revelation from the prosecution’s witness. They worried that the new information would negatively impact the jury’s opinion of their client. However, Judge Arun Subramanian refused to declare a mistrial, stating that it was unwarranted. However, he ordered the jury to disregard all questioning related to the DNA taken from Kid Cudi’s destroyed car.

Judge Instructs Jury to Disregard DNA Evidence Testimony

Judge Arun Subramanian has rejected the defense team’s request to declare a mistrial in Diddy’s sex trafficking trial. The rapper’s attorneys had accused the prosecution of implying that Diddy tampered with evidence related to Kid Cudi’s bombed Porsche. However, the judge told them their fears were unfounded. Nevertheless, he ordered the jury to disregard questioning about the missing DNA evidence.

Judge Subramanian noted that such testimony was “irrelevant to the case and the defendant” (Diddy). The prosecution had brought in arson investigator Lance Jimenex, who testified that fingerprints taken from Cudi’s car had been destroyed in August 2012. Jimenez noted that it was not normal protocol. He added that someone at the Los Angeles Police Department who was not involved in the investigation ordered the destruction.

Diddy’s defense team objected to the prosecution’s line of questioning regarding the DNA evidence from the car. However, the judge told them Jimenez’s testimony was not “prejudicial in any way, shape, or form,” while denying the request for a mistrial. Defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro replied, asking the judge to tell the jury that the questions about the fingerprint cards were “improper.” Still, Subramanian said he would only ask them to regard them as “irrelevant.”

Lance Jimenez Said Fire Would Have Been Worse

Lance Jimenez shared some details about the fire that burned Kid Cudi’s car. He testified that the perpetrator used a homemade Molotov cocktail. It was designed out of a 40-ounce Old English 800 malt liquor bottle and a designer handkerchief. Jimenez said the explosion had less impact than it should have, and the fire from the blast caused less damage.

The arson investigator explained that this happened because the handkerchief used was flimsy. Hence, it fell out of the liquor bottle. Consequently, the bottle didn’t explode, and the fuel didn’t spread. Otherwise, Kid Cudi’s car would have recorded more damage, and the fire would have spread to the vegetation around his Hollywood Hills home.

Diddy’s Legal Team Demands Mistrial

Diddy’s defense team demanded a mistrial on Wednesday morning, with Shapiro alleging that “prosecutorial misconduct” had occurred. She accused the prosecution of creating false assumptions by implying that Diddy tampered with the fingerprint cards. Shapiro noted that prosecutors should have known better, as some prospective jurors were eliminated because they believed Diddy could buy his way out of his racketeering and sex trafficking trial.

“These questions were designed to play right into that,” she said, adding that “there’s no way to un-ring this bell.”

Shapiro’s colleague affirmed her argument, stating that the prosecution’s conduct was “outrageous.” However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik countered Diddy’s attorneys’ request for a mistrial, saying it was “absolutely unwarranted.”

Slavik said she only brought up the issue of the fingerprint cards to deflate the defense team’s allegations. She noted that the defense had suggested, while questioning other witnesses that Kid Cudi’s car bombing was not properly investigated. They had also implied that investigators did not conduct a thorough search of the area for fingerprints.

Diddy’s sex trafficking trial will proceed as scheduled now that Judge Subramanian has denied his team’s demand for a mistrial. Already, the prosecution has indicated that the trial is proceeding faster than initially planned. Many are tuned in as the court decides Diddy’s fate in the coming days.

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