LOS ANGELES (AP) – A judge in Los Angeles on Wednesday sentenced the man to 60 years of life imprisonment for allegedly shooting rapper Nipsey Hussle.
Superior Court Judge H. ClayJacket II returned the late conviction of Eric R. Holder Jr., 33, for the first-degree murder of the 33-year-old Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist in 2019 was found guilty outside Hussle’s clothing store, The Marathon, in the South neighborhood of Los Angeles, where both men grew up under very similar circumstances.
In July, after the month-long trial, the jury also convicted Holder of two counts of attempted manslaughter and two counts of assault with a firearm, in which two other men were killed at the scene, who survived.
Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke delivered the verdict Wednesday after hearing from one of Hussle’s friends and hearing a letter from Holder’s father that was read in court. Holder, dressed in orange prison garb, stared straight ahead throughout the trial and did not respond when the verdict was read.
Halter was not eligible for the death penalty. He was almost certain he would receive a sentence that would guarantee him the rest of his life in prison, with only the details of his sentence being in question.
Sentencing was delayed in part, allowing defense attorney Aaron Jansen to argue that Holder’s conviction should be reduced to manslaughter or second-degree murder, whichjacket denied in December.
Hussle, real name Ermias Asghedom, and Holder have known each other for years growing up as members of the Rollin’ 60s in south LA. Both were aspiring rappers. But Holder never had the same success as Hussle, who would become a local hero and national celebrity.
Actress Lauren London, who was Hussle’s partner and mother of his two young children, did not attend any part of the trial, nor did his relatives, and no one is expected to make victim impact statements as is the case with such hearings is often the case.
Herman “Cowboy” Douglas, a close friend of Hussle who assisted him in his death and testified at the trial, told the court that the murder meant both for him personally and for the community in south Los Angeles, in the where Hussle was, a tremendous loss was a business leader and an inspiration.
“Nipsey was my friend, he was like a son, he was like a father,” Douglas said. “Our community just lost everything, everything we worked for. One man’s mistake, one man’s act has upset a whole community.”
Douglas told the judge, “I don’t care what you give this guy. It’s not about the time. i just wanna know why The world wants to know why. Why would anyone do that?”
The evidence against Holder was so overwhelming — from eyewitnesses to local business surveillance cameras recording his arrival, the shooting, and his departure — that his attorney admitted at trial that he shot Hussle.
But Jansen argued to the jury that the heated circumstances of the shooting meant a lower conviction for first degree manslaughter was warranted.
The jury returned a verdict of first-degree murder after about six hours of deliberation.
Jansen said afterwards that he was “deeply disappointed” by the verdict, which they planned to appeal.
He managed a small victory for Holder by securing the attempted voluntary manslaughter convictions where prosecutors had sought attempted murder convictions.
A year after his death, Hussle was mourned at a memorial in what was then known as the Staples Center and celebrated at a performance at the Grammy Awards, which was attended by DJ Khaled and John Legend.
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