Recap of ‘Diddy’ trial: Kid Cudi says his Porsche was torched after Sean Combs learned he was dating Cassie Ventura

By Lauren del Valle, Nicki Brown, Kara Scannell, Eric Levenson, CNN

(CNN) — The musical artist Kid Cudi, a celebrity makeup artist and a hotel employee were among those who testified Thursday to end the second week of testimony in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial.

The rapper, referred to in court as Scott Mescudi, provided the most dramatic testimony of the day. He accused Combs of breaking into his home and being involved in the destruction of his Porsche, which was set on fire with a Molotov cocktail outside of his home.

The prosecution used each witness to try to bolster the core accusations that Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura laid out on the stand last week.

Prosecutors have now called 16 witnesses over two weeks. The trial is expected to resume on Tuesday after the Memorial Day weekend with testimony from Combs’ former director of marketing Capricorn Clark and members of the LAPD and LAFD.

Prosecutors have argued Combs and some in his inner circle used threats, violence, drugs, bribery, arson, kidnapping and lies to coerce Cassie Ventura and another woman into participating in sex parties he called “Freak Offs” and to protect the music mogul’s reputation.

The defense has acknowledged Combs was violent with romantic partners and during opening statements said he had “a bit of a different sex life.” They also said that while Combs is “a very flawed individual,” he has not committed the alleged federal crimes.

Here’s what we learned in testimony Thursday.

Kid Cudi says his house was broken into and Porsche set on fire

Mescudi testified about what happened after Combs learned about his relationship with Cassie Ventura.

As he entered court for his testimony, Mescudi, who was wearing a leather jacket, did not appear to make eye contact with Combs as he walked down the center aisle to the witness stand. Combs remained facing forward.

Mescudi, 41, said he met Ventura around 2008 and they briefly dated around 2011. He testified that he believed at the time they started dating that Ventura was not romantically involved with Combs anymore. He testified Ventura told him Combs had physically assaulted her.

In December 2011, Ventura called him “scared” around 6 a.m. and said Combs had found out she and Mescudi were dating, he testified. Ventura was nervous that Combs would go to Mescudi’s house, so they went to a nearby hotel, he said.

Ventura testified last week she was at a “Freak Off” with Combs when he found out about her relationship with Mescudi. She said Combs was “super angry” and lunged at her with a wine bottle opener but she managed to get out and had Mescudi pick her up.

There, they learned that Combs and an associate were inside Mescudi’s house, he testified.

On the way back to his house, Mescudi called Combs. “I said, ‘M*therf**ker you in my house?’” he testified.

“I just want to talk to you,” Combs said, according to Mescudi. “I’m over here waiting for you.”

When he arrived to the home, Combs was not there. Mescudi said he noticed his home security cameras had been moved, and inside the house, some gifts had been opened and his dog was locked in the bathroom. He called the police and filed a police report about the break-in.

Mescudi spent the Christmas holidays with Ventura and her family in Connecticut in the following days, but the pair broke it off by New Years Eve.

Mescudi also said he got a call from his dog sitter one morning in January 2012 and was told that his Porsche vehicle was on fire. The jury reviewed photos of the destroyed car.

“It looks like the top of my Porsche was cut open and that’s where the Molotov cocktail was put in,” Mescudi said.

After the vehicle fire, Mescudi set up a meeting with Combs at the Soho House in Los Angeles.

When asked by the prosecution why he asked for the meeting, Mescudi said, “I knew he had something to do with it.” The defense objected to the response, and the judge sustained the objection, meaning the jury cannot consider his response as evidence.

When he arrived to the meeting, “Sean Combs was standing there, staring out the window with his hands behind his back, like a Marvel supervillain,” Mescudi testified. Several jurors, and many courtroom spectators, laughed at the description.

When Mescudi asked about his car, Combs responded, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mescudi testified.

At one point, Mescudi pulled his hand out of a handshake, and Combs asked him what was wrong, saying he thought they were “cool,” Mescudi said. Mescudi said he confirmed with Combs that “his word” was that he didn’t have anything to do with the damage to his Porsche. Mescudi testified he thought Combs was lying.

In 2015, Mescudi and Combs ran into each other again at the Soho House, and Combs apologized, he said.

“Man, I just want to apologize for everything and all that bullsh*t,” Combs said, according to Mescudi.

Mescudi testified he “found peace” with the situation with Combs after that. “That was the last thing I was expecting to get from him,” he said.

Kid Cudi says he got ‘played’ by Ventura

On cross-examination, Mescudi confirmed DNA was collected from his vehicle but said he didn’t hear anything else about the results from authorities.

No one was arrested for the break-in or the arson.

Mescudi said he had been in contact with Ventura almost daily for about a year and when their relationship ended in December 2011, they “just stopped talking.”

“She played you, right?” defense attorney Brian Steel asked. “Yes,” Mescudi responded.

On re-direct examination, Mescudi said he and Ventura broke up because the drama had become too much. He said he was concerned for his and Ventura’s safety “because I knew Sean Combs was violent.” He also said he thought Combs was “lying” when he said at the Soho House that he didn’t know about the car’s damage.

After his testimony, Mescudi thanked those who have been “checking in” on him in a video posted to his official Instagram account.

“It really means a lot to me, man. You guys are the best. I love you all,” he said. “This is a stressful situation, I’m glad it’s behind me.”

‘Uses excessive amounts of oil,’ hotel note says

Frederic Zemmour, the general manager of the L’Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, testified about several internal notes associated with Sean “Diddy” Combs’ guest profile at the hotel.

The profile was first created under the name Sean Combs in December 2006 but went under other names, including Jackie Star, Frank White, Frank Black and Ryan Lopez.

One internal note noted Combs “ALWAYS spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil” and instructed staff to “place the room out of order upon departure for deep cleaning.”

“Please authorize an extra $1000 when guest stays with us to cover any room damages,” another note said.

Makeup artist describes alleged assault after Prince party

Mylah Morales, a celebrity makeup artist, testified on Thursday about a 2010 incident between Combs and Ventura in which Combs became violent after attending a party at Prince’s house.

The incident was first described by Ventura in her testimony on May 14. She testified she attended the party at Prince’s house without telling Combs, who later “burst in the room” at her hotel, beat her and threw luggage at her.

On the stand Thursday, Morales said Combs came into the hotel room where they were staying and asked, “Where the f**k is she.” He went into a room with Ventura and closed the door, and shortly after Morales heard yelling and screaming, she testified.

“I was just frantic, and I didn’t know what to do,” she said.

Later, Combs stormed out of the hotel room, and Ventura was “distraught” and injured, she said.

“She had a swollen eye and a busted lip and knots on her head,” Morales testified.

On cross-examination, Morales confirmed that she did not see what happened between Combs and Ventura inside the hotel bedroom.

Ex-assistant says he left job after seeing violence

George Kaplan, a former executive assistant for Combs who began his testimony on Wednesday and returned to the stand on Thursday, testified that he left the job after seeing the hip-hop mogul being violent with Ventura and another woman.

“The central reason that I left my job as Mr. Combs assistant was that I was not comfortable or aligned with the physical behavior that had been going on that I had seen pieces of over the course of a couple months,” he said on Thursday.

He didn’t want to be a party to “fixing those types of things,” he said.

Kaplan, who testified under an immunity order, said that he worked at Combs Enterprises from 2013 until December 2015.

He said he witnessed Combs’ violence against Ventura in late 2015 on a private jet. In another instance, Combs called Kaplan to the master bathroom, and Ventura was crying on the bed, holding her head in her hands and had visible bruising on her face, he said. He did not intervene or call the police either time, he said.

In addition, in late 2015 he saw Combs angrily throw apples, which he could not identify as decorative or real, at another girlfriend named Gina.

Despite the incidents, he said he has kept in touch with Combs and reaches out to him on his birthday every year. Kaplan said the job was a “once in a lifetime opportunity” and said he was “very grateful for the lessons” he learned from Combs.

In court, Kaplan looked over at Combs often during his testimony and the two appeared to smile at each other. As Kaplan left the room, he nodded in Combs direction, and Combs nodded back.

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