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2 of 10 Inmates Still at Large Nearly Two Weeks after Escaping; Former Assistant Capricorn Clark Testifies in Criminal Trial of Sean Combs. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 27, 2025 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The multi-state manhunt after one of Louisiana's biggest jail breaks is now focused on finding the final two fugitives. One of them, Antoine Massey, has broken out of jail before. The other, Derrick Groves, was convicted of two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

They are among the ten men who initially escaped nearly two weeks ago from this New Orleans jail. And yesterday, three more escapees were nabbed. This marks the first time that any of them had been captured outside of the city of New Orleans.

Authorities have also charged 13 people for allegedly helping these inmates, either inside of the jail or outside after they broke out of prison.

CNN senior national correspondent Ryan Young has the latest on this. And Ryan, I understand you have some breaking developments. Police in Texas just released some body cam video.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we do have that body camera video. But first, let's tell you about Linton VanBuren. He was caught in Baton Rouge outside of a department store. That's about 40 minutes away from New Orleans.

But that video that you talk about that we got in the last hour or so from that Texas police department, we should show you this. And just know that they were after these two suspects.

It was a high-speed chase. You can hear the emotion as the cops pulled the two men over. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody move to the right side of the car. Open the door, dude. My old man, you kidding me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jumbo, good hands?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shut up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unlock the door with your right hand. Crawl -- no, Jumbo, back up. Crawl to him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in the car. We're in the car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the way out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crawl!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, you can see Tate and Donald being pulled from that car. You see the officers have their guns out. See the AR-15 there. Clear instructions from the officers as they did this.

[13:35:00]

Crime Stoppers has been really helpful with this, Brianna, in terms of all the tips that have been coming into that New Orleans agency. On top of that, you got to think a $20,000 reward per inmate that is captured has been really helpful in terms of getting the news out there. You think about this, three suspects now caught outside New Orleans.

But like you started this segment off, you had those two suspects that are still on the loose. And it's something that's been highlighted to us by Marshal Service is that the two men who are still on the run, Groves and Massey, who you see there on your screen, they consider these guys armed and dangerous and very street savvy and smart. And maybe the ones who sort of had more of an inkling behind this.

We know they've been going through jail audio, been listening to some of the phone calls, and they can see who was sort of planning this thing and plotting it along for months. So as they have arrested 13 other people who have been involved in this, the real questions about who the masterminds were behind this, some of that is starting to unravel a little bit with investigators looking into this. But you see, after a week of pretty much being quiet, investigators have really been able to dig in three arrests in the last 24 hours.

And we've been told by sources they feel pretty good about the tips they're getting in the last 24 hours or so -- Brianna.

KEILAR: And Ryan, these 13 people that police have arrested for helping the inmates, what do they say they did to help them?

YOUNG: Well, there have been questions about that as well. You know, you had that first guy who worked inside the jail who was arrested. He apparently was a plumber.

His attorney has come out and basically said he was not a part of this. If you look at some of the last names, you can see their family members. So did they know they were helping people who had escaped when they may have wired them some money with cash app or gave them a ride?

That's going to be a part for investigators to sort of explain in the next 24 hours or so. When you look at where VanBuren was caught yesterday in Baton Rouge, he was sitting outside of the department store. Did that happen because he saw his family members being arrested and decided to turn himself in?

These are all questions that we'll have to get from investigators at some point. But you can tell the pressure is on, especially with all the calls into Crimestoppers and the tips coming in. At the same time, law enforcement stressing the last two that are out there, armed and dangerous, should be considered very street savvy.

It's something to see how this will play out, especially with law enforcement spreading their tentacles past Louisiana into Texas.

KEILAR: All right, Ryan Young, thank you for that.

Sean Diddy Combs, former assistant, giving some dramatic new testimony. What she said about an alleged incident where Combs went to rapper Kid Cudi's house with a gun.

We'll have that next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

[13:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Testimony resumed today in the Sean Diddy Combs Federal Racketeering and Sex Trafficking Trial. And right now, Combs' former personal assistant, Capricorn Clark, is back on the stand. Today, she told prosecutors about the alleged threats and intimidation that she endured while working for Combs.

She claims that she was locked inside of a vacant office building and forced to take a lie detector test after a bag of jewelry she was responsible for disappeared. She also testified that she warned Cassie Ventura, Combs' ex-girlfriend, that he was furious after he learned that Ventura was dating rapper Kid Cudi.

Clark, at one point, telling the jury that Combs said, quote, I'll kill you all.

KEILAR: Last week, prosecutors introduced evidence of Kid Cudi's car being set on fire. Today, Clark testified that she hung up the phone when investigators called her about it. Let's talk about today's testimony with defense attorney Misty Marris.

All right, so the jury, Misty, has already heard from two other former assistants of Combs. What are prosecutors trying to achieve with testimony from this witness today?

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, so Capricorn Clark is actually a very important witness for prosecutors because her testimony directly relates to some of what prosecutors say is the underlying predicate crimes in the RICO conspiracy charge. So RICO conspiracy requires Combs and co-conspirators agreeing to commit racketeering activity, those are crimes, in furtherance of a criminal enterprise. One of those, Brianna, as you just said, relates to this underlying crime of arson and that is the Molotov cocktail thrown in Kid Cudi's car.

Now, Capricorn Clark didn't know or didn't communicate with law enforcement about that. She didn't respond. But that speaks to this overall trying to protect Combs from any legal repercussions for his actions. So it shows that level of the cover-up among his co- conspirators.

But more importantly, in the indictment, there are two predicate crimes of kidnapping incidents. And this relates to Capricorn Clark specifically.

One, in 2004, when she was in a five-day lie detector test in downtown Manhattan. And another, that day in 2011, where she says that she was forced to go to Kid Cudi's home when Combs found out about his relationship with Cassie Ventura. So those predicate crimes are required.

Prosecutors have to show the jury that those crimes were committed in furtherance of that criminal enterprise. And her testimony, along with Kid Cudi's, this is where we see that racketeering conspiracy case being formulated by prosecutors.

SANCHEZ: Does it matter, Misty, that she had been fired in 2012 for what she says was inappropriately taking vacation or being accused of that?

[13:45:00]

MARRIS: So, actually, this is all part of the defense narrative which we are going to be seeing play out on cross-examination and did before the lunch break is picking up right now. So, yes, she claims that she was terminated after, number one, she reported that she was kidnapped to HR and to an executive. She was terminated shortly thereafter. And she actually had a civil settlement relating to that wrongful termination.

But to your point, there's other instances where she's been on again, off again for a really long time as Combs' assistant, you know, 10 plus years and in other roles in Combs' enterprise and in Combs' businesses.

You can see where the defense is going here. They're trying to undermine her testimony by showing that she was still in communication. She was still trying to get another job from Combs even as soon as 2024 while he was under criminal investigation.

So, this is all to say, if you have somebody who's threatening you, kidnapping you, and putting -- and threatening you 50 plus times, threatening your life, and engaging in all of this improper conduct, why are you trying to work for them again throughout all of these many, many years? So, this is really where the defense goes after the credibility of the witnesses.

KEILAR: Misty, I want to ask you about Victim 3. We were expecting this to be a case where there would be three victims, one of them Cassie Ventura and two others. Victim 3, as we have understood through various reporting, is another ex-girlfriend of Combs, currently under subpoena.

Difficult to get a hold of. Difficult to get a hold of their lawyer as well. And not now going to be a part of this case.

What kind of questions does that raise for you?

MARRIS: So, for me, and we've seen a lot of this play out when the jury is not in the room, right? So, there's a lot of argument that goes on between prosecutors and defense counsel. And right now, the battle royale is whether or not the conduct as alleged in the indictment relating to Victim 3 can even come in through other witnesses or through other evidence, or whether that's off the table because Victim 3 is now not going to testify.

And in any case where you have assault, sexual impropriety, you oftentimes do find witnesses who either recant or are not willing to participate in a trial, even when there's a subpoena. From the prosecutor's perspective, once this person is really not going to show up, you might not want to force them because it could be a wild card on the stand.

And from the defense perspective, you're utilizing every tool in your toolbox to keep out any allegations relating to that particular victim so the jury never hears about that piece of prosecutor's case.

So, this is a really tactical fight that's going on behind the scenes as far as whether we'll hear anything about Victim 3 in this trial.

SANCHEZ: We'll have to keep watching it closely. Misty Marris, thanks so much for the analysis. Appreciate it.

MARRIS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: So, Elon Musk is set to address workers at a SpaceX event after a pivotal Starship launch today. It's the latest sign that he's taking a step back from full-time government work to refocus on his companies. We'll discuss next.

[13:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour.

A rare address in Canada a short time ago from King Charles personally delivering what is call "The Speech from the Throne". This marks the start of a new session of Parliament. The British monarch is Canada's official head of state. Usually doesn't make this speech, but he did in this case to emphasize Canada's self-determination, underscoring the country's sovereignty.

His visit widely seen as pushback against President Trump's calls to make Canada the 51st state. It's just the second time in Canada's history that the sovereign has delivered the address. Plus, a close call caught on camera as Arizona firefighters responded

to the scene of a fire. The Tucson Fire Department says several firefighters were on top of that abandoned building. In addition to those around it when the roof collapsed, fortunately no one was injured.

And Southwest Airlines has now put a price tag on checking bags. A coveted free perk that's about to disappear as part of changes the carrier is making to its service. If you buy a ticket after today, checking your first bag is going to cost you $35. It'll be $45 for the second piece of luggage. The airline says members in the A-list tier of its Rapid Rewards program, holders of its branded credit card, or those who pay for business class will not have to pay those charges.

We're also following some breaking news. Philadelphia police looking for whoever is responsible for a mass shooting in one of the city's most popular parks. Gunfire erupted about 10:30 last night in Fairmount Park, bringing a violent end to Memorial Day celebrations.

[13:55:00]

Police say a man and a woman were killed while nine others were hurt. Three minors ages 15, 16, and 17 are among the wounded. Our affiliate KYW reports the shooting began after a car meet-up. The city's police commissioner says it's possible modified guns were used here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN BETHEL, PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER: Crime scene is now going through, looking at the shell casing. We'll be able to determine, you know, if it was one weapon or multiple weapons. But it's pretty rapid fire, so I'm going to be pretty confident that there probably was a switch on this one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The switch that Commissioner Bethel just mentioned refers to an adjustment to a semi-automatic gun to make it fully automatic.

Still ahead, President Trump is venting his frustrations at Vladimir Putin for his ongoing aerial assaults on Ukraine. He says Putin is playing with fire and he's now considering new sanctions on Russia.

CNN's new reporting just ahead.

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