Sean Combs trial updates: 'Mia' details several 'violent' encounters with Combs

Defense attorneys for Sean Combs called it "outrageous" that federal prosecutors asked a Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigator about the destruction of fingerprints that he testified had been lifted from Scott Mescudi's front door.

The investigator, Lance Jimenez, testified he did not order the prints destroyed. He told the court that he blamed "someone in the LAPD."

When prosecutor Christy Slavik asked whether it was "unusual" for evidence to be destroyed in an open case, the defense objected and Judge Arun Subramanian summoned the attorneys to a sidebar.

The judge then sent the jury from the courtroom for a break. The defense moved for a mistrial, alleging Slavik's question was meant to plant an inference in jurors' minds that Combs was responsible for the destruction of evidence.

Subramanian denied the mistrial and gave the jury an instruction upon their return from the break.

"Before the break, you heard some testimony about fingerprint cards and I'm now instructing you that questions regarding the destruction of the fingerprint cards, and the answers, are irrelevant to this case and to the defendant and are not to be considered by you," Subramanian said.

Jimenez testified that he tried calling several people at Mescudi's suggestion, including previous witnesses Capricorn Clark and Cassie Ventura, and was unable to reach them.

There were never any charges connected to the arson but the case has not been closed. Jimenez testified that the current status of the case is "inactive pending anything further."

The mention of fingerprint evidence being inexplicably destroyed prompted an objection from the defense and a motion for a mistrial.

"The only way to cure the outrageous prejudice is to move for a mistrial," defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro said.

Darla Miles reports.

Shapiro accused the government of prosecutorial misconduct for asking the witness whether it was "unusual" for fingerprint evidence to be destroyed. She accused the government of trying to plant an idea that Combs was responsible for the destruction of the fingerprints lifted from Kid Cudi's front door.

"It was becoming clearer and clearer that this inference was what the government was doing this for," Shapiro said. "There's no way to un-ring this bell."

Prosecutor Christy Slavik said a mistrial is "absolutely unwarranted."

"The application for a mistrial is denied," Judge Arun Subramanian said.

The judge said there was no testimony in response to the question of whether it was unusual for fingerprint evidence to have been destroyed.

Subramanian said he would strike the testimony and give a curative instruction telling the jury the questions about the fingerprint destruction are irrelevant to the case and the responses should be disregarded.

It did not take long for LAFD arson investigator Lance Jimenez to conclude the car fire on January 9, 2012 was caused by a "makeshift firebomb" known as a Molotov cocktail.

"Somebody had lit it, cut the roof and dropped it in the front seat," Jimenez told the jury. "In my opinion it was targeted."

Jimenez said he took note of the slash in the canvas top of the black Porsche 911 Cabriolet and "burn patterns" on the seat, carpeting and roof.

"There was a bottle on the front seat and there was a cloth handkerchief on the center console that was burned," Jimenez said. "Inside the bottle I observed a liquid that gave an odor I know to be gasoline."

He said he also noticed a disposable red lighter on the ground. He walked the jury through photos of the damage, including the soot damage on the driver's door, the burns on the interior and the cut in the canvas roof. The jury also saw a picture of the lighter, the 40 ounce Old English 800 malt liquor bottle used to make the Molotov cocktail and burned handkerchief.

"The cloth was more of a silky type material. I think it just fell out of the bottle. The bottle didn't break so the liquid wasn't able to disburse. The fire just smoldered out. It didn't cause damage I think it was intended for," Jimenez said.

Jimenez testified that Kid Cudi had his home swept for fingerprints after the earlier break-in. Two prints were lifted from the glass front door, but Jimenez told the jury the fingerprint cards he turned in to the LAPD evidence unit were destroyed in August of 2012.

The Los Angeles police officer who responded to Kid Cudi's home on December 22, 2011 after he reported a break-in testified that a black SUV he saw leaving the scene was registered to Sean Combs' company.

LAPD officer Christopher Ignacio said he went through the home with Scott Mescudi and recorded the incident as a trespassing for "someone entering someone's property without the owner's consent."

He said he ran the license plate from the black Cadillac Escalade seen driving from the house. The jury saw the DMV report that showed the registered owner as Bad Boy Productions, Inc.

Capricorn Clark testified Combs and a bodyguard entered Mescudi's home after allegedly kidnapping her at gunpoint from her apartment.

Kid Cudi testified nothing was missing but he found Christmas presents opened on the counter and his dog locked in a bathroom.

On cross-examination, Ignacio confirmed his report said nothing about a firearm being involved.

"You had no information that there was a gun involved?" defense attorney Brian Steel asked. "I don't believe so," Ignacio responded.

"Did you hear anything about a kidnapping?" Steel asked. "No," Ignacio answered.

The next witness is the LAFD arson investigator who responded to the firebombing of Kid Cudi's car.