Attorney Robert Shapiro, who was part of O.J. Simpson’s defense “Dream Team” in his 1995 murder trial, thinks Sean “Diddy” Combs will face a “substantial sentence” when he goes before a judge in October.
Shapiro made the comment in an recent interview with Fox News Digital after jurors acquitted Combs on July 2, of racketeering and sex trafficking charges but found him guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
The Bad Boy Records founder remains jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York while he awaits sentencing on Oct. 3.
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While Diddy beat the RICO charge that would have carried a life sentence, Shapiro feels the judge tipped his intentions by denying the music mogul bail after the verdict.
Judges typically follow a probation report or a pre-sentence report when calculating how much time a convicted person must serve, Shapiro said. He estimated the mogul would get a minimum of 2.5 years, but probably more time.
“Whether or not he had a criminal history, I don’t know. That could raise it,” he said. “But, having said that and having seen that this judge did not release him on bail, I think a message may be coming that you’re going to be spending a lot more time, so no reason to let you come out and come back in.”
Judge Arun Subramanian cited the 2016 surveillance video showing Diddy attacking his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel, when he denied the producer and rapper’s bail request.
“If the judge looks at that tape in his mind and is reminded about it again… I think there is a real chance that a substantial sentence will be forthcoming,” Shapiro said.
Diddy faces a maximum sentence of 20 years, 10 years for each prostitution count. The prosecution recommended four to five years in federal prison. The defense suggested 21 to 27 months in federal prison.
The judge denied bail, citing the mogul’s history of violence in his personal relationships and saying there was no way to guarantee others’ safety if he was released.
Celebrity lawyer David Chesnoff agreed that the judge can consider factors beyond the reports and general guidelines when speaking to Fox News Digital.
“The guidelines in this case, based on what he got convicted of and the lack of criminal history, would lead you to think that it could be a rather low sentence,” said Chesnoff, who has defended Paris Hilton, Bruno Mars and more. “And considering the amount of time he’s been in, he’d be out quickly.”
But other factors can be weighed by the judge, Chesnoff added.
“I got the sense from this judge that he feels that [Diddy is] deserving of punishment, otherwise he wouldn’t have kept him in,” he added. “So it’s hard to speculate. The maximum sentence is 10 and 10. That’s very unlikely. But do I think that he’ll get somewhere above what the defense wants and lower than what the government wants? I think he’ll split the baby.”
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