Sean 'Diddy' Combs avoids felony assault charges in UCLA incident
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs will not face felony assault and battery charges from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office stemming from his arrest following his altercation with a UCLA football coach, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office will now decide whether to charge Combs, 45, with a misdemeanor.
“We are thankful that the district attorney rejected felony charges in this matter,” said Mark Geragos, an attorney for Combs, according to the Times. “This case never should have been part of the criminal justice system to begin with.”
Combs was arrested by UCLA campus police on June 22 for allegedly assaulting Bruins strength and conditioning coordinator Sal Alosi with a kettlebell inside UCLA’s Acosta Athletic Training Complex. Combs’ son, Justin, is a redshirt junior defensive back for UCLA.
Combs was initially charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of making terrorist threats and one count of battery.
A representative for Combs, who was released from Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Inmate Reception Center on Monday after posting $160,000 bond, later said the rapper was exercising self-defense in the incident.
“The various accounts of the event and charges that are being reported are wholly inaccurate,” Combs’ representative told the Associated Press. “What we can say now is that any actions taken by Mr. Combs were solely defensive in nature to protect himself and his son.
“We are confident that once the true facts are revealed, the case will be dismissed.”
- Mike Fiammetta
