The latest lawsuit to come against Sean “Diddy” Combs is the first since his federal arrest that doesn’t involve sexual assault. However, the details of the incident follow the pattern of the previous reports of Combs’ alleged violent nature.
Atlanta entrepreneur DeWitt Gilmore filed a complaint Nov. 3 in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. The suit claims in the summer of 1996, Gilmore was exiting a club with his friends when Combs and his associates pulled up beside him in a vehicle.
Gilmore told NewsNation’s “Banfield” in an interview he had worn a t-shirt promoting the forthcoming Death Row East record label in an effort to bring unity amidst the coast-to-coast rivalry with Bad Boy Entertainment.
The suit says Combs then initiated a verbal confrontation with Gilmore shouting, “What’s up, b***h?”
“Puff, keep your drama to yourself. I don’t want nothing to do with whatever you got going on, man. We know you’re trouble,” Gilmore said he responded.
The encounter then escalated as additional vehicles with more of Combs’ associates surrounded Gilmore and his car, per the lawsuit.
The filing said the associates then brandished their firearms and fired shots. Gilmore claimed he and his friends drove away from the scene but told NewsNation’s “Banfield” the other cars chased them.
“Now it’s a hasty car chase. I’m on the sidewalks. I’m going down one ways. It’s one o’clock in the morning. [It was] not a lot of traffic, but the traffic that was there, I was able to basically escape this guy and his goons,” Gilmore said.
The lawsuit says Gilmore had his story corroborated by witness Lance Calfe, one of the men who rode in the car with him during the alleged chase. Gilmore said he finally decided to speak out now because Combs is currently incarcerated in Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn awaiting federal prosecution for sex crime charges.
“I was afraid, to be honest. But ever since he’s been locked up, we feel protected. We’re no longer afraid. I speak for all the victims,” said Gilmore via “Banfield.”
This lawsuit is one of many following the 55-year-old rap mogul’s arrest in Manhattan by federal authorities on Monday, Sept. 16. His indictment was unsealed the following morning, revealing charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and engaging in interstate transportation for prostitution. The allegations against Combs include sexual abuse, physical abuse, bribery and various drug offenses.
He’s pleaded not guilty to the charges. Combs is headed to trial in May 2025. He’s currently being held in Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn.