Diddy Trial Juror Dismissed by Judge Over Residency Issue

Diddy's federal jury in NYC is bringing in an alternate ... because a juror has just been dismissed by the judge after hearing more than three weeks of testimony.

Judge Arun Subramanian dismissed Juror Number 6 Monday morning after hearing arguments from the prosecution and the defense regarding where the juror lives.

While the jury was out of the room Friday, the judge explained he went back to the voir dire portion of the trial and found this juror had said at different times that he lives in the Bronx, at other times in New Jersey.

The judge added the court has alternate jurors for a reason -- and, there's no point in keeping one around with so many question marks attached.

The alternate juror replacing Number 6 is a 57-year-old Westchester County resident.

Friday, Diddy's attorney Xavier Donaldson stood up and said the court was taking a big step backward by getting rid of a juror of color ... asking the judge to bring him back into the court to give him the chance to explain.

During the jury selection phase, Juror No. 6 revealed he was a 41-year-old Black Hispanic man who works for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. One of the main reasons the defense said they didn't want him dismissed is because he's one of the few Black jurors.

He's the head accountant clerk at Edgecombe Correctional Facility -- a prison in Upper Manhattan. He told the court he processes payroll for corrections guards.

Juror No. 6 had his fair share of legal issues before the trial ... suing and later settling with the Port Authority after allegedly injuring his back on an escalator.

He also said he was arrested for insurance fraud related to a doctor's appointment after a car accident.