No Settlement For Diddy and Alleged Victim

As previously reported on XXLMag.com, Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of assaulting a 31-year-old man, Steven Acevedo, at a Manhattan nightspot, Kiosk, on October 13. The incident allegedly took place around 3:30 a.m. when Diddy allegedly punched Acevedo twice in the face and screamed, “I’ll kill you, punk!” Yesterday (October 16), various news outlets reported that Diddy and Acevedo met at New York’s Butter nightclub to discuss a possible settlement. According to MTV News, though, those reports are false as Acevedo’s lawyer, Mark Heller, denied the meeting ever took place. “That report is inaccurate,” Heller told MTV News. “As I understand [it], my client did not interface in any way, shape or form with Sean Combs. At this point, the altercation between Sean Combs and Steven Acevedo, which took places the other evening, has given rise to an extensive criminal investigation, and no civil proceedings have been initiated yet, pending the outcome of the criminal investigation and subsequent criminal prosecution, should one be initiated. [Acevedo] will seriously weigh his options, based on the outcome, but needless to say, it’s certainly premature to presume that any resolution has been reached at this point, either in the criminal proceedings or in any civil arena.”

In addition, a publicist for Diddy refuted claims, reported by the New York Post, that the incident was spurred over a woman. Diddy’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, also denied reports that the Bad Boy mogul was going to turn himself in to police yesterday (October 16). “One should remember that in New York, when there is an allegation of assault by one citizen against another, it does not give rise to a civil venue whereby the assaulted individual has the authority or discretion to elect to either pursue or decline a prosecution,” Brafman toldMTV News. “It is only in the discretion of the government or agencies, and ultimately, a judge, as to whether or not prosecutions should be pursued or declined.”