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Eric Holder Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder in Killing of Nipsey Hussle
Eric Holder, Jr. has been found guilty in the murder of Nipsey Hussle.
A Los Angeles jury reached a verdict on Wednesday (July 6) in the trial of Holder, who fatally shot the 33-year-old rapper outside his Marathon Clothing store in South Los Angeles more than three years ago.
The panel deliberated for nearly five hours on Friday followed by just over half an hour on Wednesday before finding Holder guilty of first-degree murder.
During the murder trial, which lasted over two weeks, prosecutors said that Holder had a conversation with Hussle and became angered over accusations he was a snitch. He returned to the store with two handguns and opened fire repeatedly in the parking lot outside the store. Hussle was shot 11 times. Two other men were also shot and survived.
Holder and Hussle were both members of the Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips gang. The prosecutor told the downtown L.A. courtroom that Holder said to Nipsey, “You’re through,” to which Hussle replied, “You got me.”
Multiple witnesses confirmed that Holder approached Hussle on March 31, 2019 and his face was captured by security cameras, according to the Los Angeles Times. Instead of arguing for an acquittal, Holder’s attorney tried to persuade jurors they should convict his client of a lesser manslaughter charge.
Along with the murder conviction, Holder was convicted of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter for the shooting of the two other men, as well as two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was found not guilty of premeditated attempted murder.
The trial was delayed for one day after Holder was attacked by other inmates in a jail holding cell while on his way to court, an injury that required three staples to the back of his head.
Holder faces life in prison when he is sentenced at a later date.