NEW YORK — They danced with him, they drank with him, and they guarded his personal safety, but five witnesses testified Thursday that they never saw Sean "Puffy" Combs with a gun as he partied in a Times Square nightclub.

Their testimony came as lawyers for the rap music king opened his defense against weapons possession and bribery charges. Combs, who faces 15 years in prison, has been eager to get his case in front of the jury, especially after allegations surfaced Wednesday that he was trying to buy the silence of a key prosecution witness. When the trial opened a month ago, lawyers promised jurors they would hear from dozens of witnesses who will refute the prosecution's claim that Combs fired a gun during a 1999 fight at Club New York.

Trenton Stewart

Bouncer Trenton Stewart was the strongest witness in Thursday's line-up, literally and figuratively. The 6-foot 3-inch, 327-pound former Marine testified that he had tried to break up the fight by positioning his body between Combs' security guard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, and club patron, Matthew "Scar" Allen. Combs and Jones were standing directly behind him just before five gunshots rang out, Steward said, describing the shots as coming from his "oblique left." The bouncer testified the shots sounded as if they were fired from two guns, one of a larger caliber than the other. Jones, Combs and co-defendant Jamal "Shyne" Barrow are all accused of carrying 9mm semiautomatics, but the defense has claimed that 40-caliber bullets recovered at the crime scene are proof other patrons fired guns.

"Did you ever hear any shot coming from behind you?" Combs' lawyer Benjamin Brafman asked.

"Directly behind me? No," Stewart replied. He added that moments after the shooting, he spotted Jones and Combs fleeing the club with their hands raised to shield their faces. They had no weapons, he said.

On cross-examination, however, Stewart acknowledged that he turned his back on Combs before the first shot was fired and did not know where the music executive was when it or any of the subsequent shots rang out.

Defense lawyers are clearly working hard to cast doubt on prosecution witnesses who said Combs had a gun inside the club. Two gunshot victims said that Combs brandished a weapon; his chauffeur said Combs was carrying a gun in his waistband; and Allen, who is expected to take the stand when the defense rests, has told police he saw Combs fire the weapon.

On Thursday, the defense called another bouncer and a former employee of Combs to cast doubt on the suggestion he was able to conceal a gun in his waistband while in the club. Jayson Delgado, Combs' one-time personal assistant, said he was in the VIP section earlier in the night when his boss jumped on a coffee table and began dancing.

"He had his hands in the air and was waving them around ... I was able to see his boxers," Delgado said, adding that he saw no weapon.

Bouncer Glen Beck told jurors that, in the aftermath of the shooting, Combs and his entourage rushed down the club's stairs, tripping over each other and falling into a wall as they tried to exit.

Combs' hands were empty, Beck said, and because of the stumbling, "if someone would've been carrying a weapon in their waistband, it would've fallen out."

But on cross-examination, prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos jammed a 9mm gun into the pocket of his suit pants and got Beck to say a weapon might not have fallen out of a pocket.

Club owner Michael Bergos and his manager Eric Funk also testified that they did not see Combs with a weapon on the night of the shooting. But on cross-examination, both men seemed to hurt the defense.

Funk, who was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, told jurors it was easy to hide a gun under clothes, and Bergos hinted at shady behavior by Combs' defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran. Bergos, who is suing Combs for $5.4 million in damages to his club and reputation following the shooting, said Cochran told him that his client would be an asset to Bergos' business after the trial was over.

"Did Mr. Cochran assure you that Mr. Combs would do something to help you with the club?" Bogdanos asked.

"Yes," Bergos said.

Cochran himself pressed Bergos on this issue, making it clear there was no quid pro quo.

"Did Mr. Combs promise to give you anything to testify?" he asked Bergos.

"No," Bergos replied.

"Did I?" Cochran asked.

"No," Bergos answered.