Nipsey Hussle trial concludes with Eric Holder Jr. convicted of first-degree murder
The Grammy-nominated rapper was shot outside his clothing store in Los Angeles in 2019
A verdict has been reached in the trial of Eric Holder Jr., accused of the killing of rapper Nipsey Hussle. The jury concludes Holder is guilty of first-degree murder for the beloved artist’s death.
News of Hussle’s death shocked and devastated fans after he was shot outside of his own clothing store in South Los Angeles in 2019. Hussle was an up-and-coming rapper who had recently been nominated for Best Rap Album at the Grammys. He was also known for his dedication to his community, where he was engaged in entrepreneurship and philanthropy.
Per Rolling Stone, the trial came down to whether the shooting had been premeditated. Holder’s public defender argued for a charge of voluntary manslaughter. They presented a case that Holder had run into Hussle by chance (both had been members of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang) and became agitated by Hussle’s suggestion that Holder was a police informant, returning and firing his weapon a “mere nine minutes” later.
Deputy District Attorney John McKinney, meanwhile, argued that witnesses had described their initial encounter as short and civil. “It wasn’t hostile. It didn’t look like a fight was about to happen. No one was agitated,” McKinney said in his closing (per Rolling Stone).
McKinney put forth that there was “plenty of evidence of premeditation and deliberation,” telling the jury on Thursday, “I submit to you that the motive for killing Nipsey Hussle had little or nothing to do with the conversation they had; there’s already a pre-existing jealousy. Here you have Nipsey Hussle, who is a successful artist from the same neighborhood, [and] Mr. Holder, who is an unsuccessful rap artist.”
Ultimately, the jury favored McKinney’s version of events. “The streets he used to run as a young man became the life material that he used to become a voice of those same streets. While some people get successful, they make money, they leave their neighborhood, they change their address, this man was different. He wanted to change the neighborhood. He invested in the neighborhood. He kept the same friends and the neighborhood loved him. They called him Neighborhood Nip,” the prosector said in his closing. “He was a father, he was a son, he was a brother, he was a human being.”