LOS ANGELES —— Jurors Wednesday, a 32-year-old man is guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of rapper Nipsey Hussle in 2019.
The Los Angeles County jury also said Eric R. Holder Jr. is at fault for two counts of attempted intentional murder and two counts of attempted murder, as prosecutors searched for two other men who had been shot at the scene.
Holder, dressed in a blue suit and face mask, stood in the small courtroom next to his lawyer as the verdict was read. He had no visual reaction.
Jurors deliberated for about six hours over two days to deliver the verdict.
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The verdict ends a legal saga that has lasted more than 3 years and a trial delayed due to the pandemic.
Holder and Hussle had known each other for years, having grown up in the same South Los Angeles street gang, when a possible outdoor encounter at the rapper’s Los Angeles clothing store led to the shooting and his death.
The evidence opposing Holder is overwhelming, from eyewitnesses to surveillance cameras from local businesses that filmed his arrival, shooting and departure.
His lawyer didn’t even deny that he was the shooter, but suggested to the jury that he convict him of the lower rate of intentional homicide.
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The shooting follows a verbal exchange the two men had about rumors that Holder acted as an informant for authorities. Holder’s attorney, Aaron Jansen, said being publicly accused of being a “golden beast” through someone as prominent as Hussle sparked a “heat of passion. “” in Holder who made him not guilty of first-degree murder.
“It’s a provocation that arouses anger and strong emotions,” Jansen told the jury Thursday.
Assistant District Attorney John McKinney argued at trial that Holder and all the other participants in the verbal exchange that preceded Hussle’s death were so calm that the verbal exchange of “snitch” may not have been the number one motive, and that Holder will have to have some preference or hatred for fighting.
McKinney told the jury that the nine minutes between the verbal exchange and the shooting left more time for the murder to be premeditated, a requirement for first-degree murder.
The jury agreed.
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Hussle, whose legal name is Ermias Asghedom, died at the age of 33. He had just released his first album on a major label, which earned him his first Grammy nomination, when he shot.
He is a much-loved figure in Los Angeles, especially in the South Los Angeles domain, where he grew up and stayed after gaining fame, buying property and opening businesses.
“He sought to replace the community,” McKinney said in his closing argument. “He kept the same friends. And the community enjoyed it. They called it Neighborhood Nip.
Hussle was mourned at a memorial in the arena then known as the Staples Center, and held a Grammy performance that included D. J. Khaled and John Legend.