The murder trial for Eric Holder, the man accused of killing beloved rapper Nipsey Hussle, has finally begun. Holder is accused of fatally shooting Hussle in March 2019 outside of Hussle’s clothing store in the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles. His trial has been delayed several times amid the coronavirus pandemic, legal team changes, and the retirement of the judge in the initial trial. Holder’s legal team is not denying that he shot and killed Hussle. Instead, they are alleging it was not premeditated. Chilling details about what allegedly occurred were revealed during the prosecution’s opening statements.
Prosecutors claimed that Holder told Hustle before firing shots, “You are through,” as he squeezed off 10 to 11 shots. They claim the murder was cold-blooded. “He shot from left and right hand, retreated, shot some more, retreated and went back in and shot even more,” District Attorney John McKinney said, per The New York Post. “The only thing he said while looking at Nipsey… ‘You are through!’” McKinney said. Hussle and Holder reportedly grew up in the same neighborhood and belonged to the same street gang — the Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips.
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Holder is said to have opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon in his left hand and a revolver in his right, McKinney said. It was “a very personal attack,” McKinney told jurors. “He was shot literally from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head,” McKinney said. “The bullet perforated Nipsey’s lungs, one bullet transected his spine and one bullet went through the liver. It was a devastating attack.”
Jurors were shown videos of the shooting. In the video, a man who is said to be Hussle’s brother Samiel “Sam” Asghedom, desperately tried to provide Hussle CPR.
Holder’s defense attorney told a different story. “This is a case of heat of passion,” Public Defender Aaron Jansen told jurors. He claimed that what set Holder off was a comment Hussle made to him. “[He] made an accusation against Mr. Holder that he was a snitch,” he said.
Testimony is said to occur over the next two weeks. A number of witnesses are expected to take the stand, including high-profile celebrities who were friends of Hussle’s.
