Rapper Nipsey Hussle March was shot in 2019 on a Los Angeles street. Photo: AP
The convicted killer of rapper Nipsey Hussle was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison on Wednesday (Feb 22).
Eric Holder Jr. was convicted of first-degree murder in July 2022 for the March 2019 shooting of the Grammy Award-winning rapper in Los Angeles.
Herman “Cowboy” Douglas, one of Hussle’s friends, spoke and a letter from Holder’s father was read to the court before the sentence was handed down.
Holder gunned Hussle down outside his South L.A. clothing store. Hussle, 33 at the time of his death, was struck at least 10 times.
Security footage played at the trial showed Holder running from the scene carrying a semi-automatic pistol.
“Nipsey was my friend, he was like a son, he was like a dad,” Douglas said during Wednesday’s hearing. “Our community right now, we lost everything, everything we worked for. One man’s mistake, one man’s action, messed up a whole community.”
“I don’t care what you give this guy. It ain’t about the time,” Douglas said to the judge. “I just want to know why. The world wants to know why. Why someone would do that?”
Holder, 33, was also convicted on two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a firearm for wounding two men who survived the shooting. The jury deliberated for about six hours.
Holder’s sentencing had been delayed due to attempts to have his conviction reduced to manslaughter or second-degree murder. However, the defense motion was rejected in December. A request for a new trial was also rejected.
The murder conviction alone carries a penalty of 25 years to life.
“We hope that there is some resounding peace in the fact that his killer will be in prison likely for the rest of his life,” deputy district attorney John McKinney, the lead prosecutor at the trial, said after the verdict.
None of Hussle’s family members, including actress and partner Lauren London, attended the trial and are not expected to make victim impact statements during Holder’s sentencing.
Hussle, who was born Airmiess Asghedom, had known Holder for years. The two grew up as members of the Rollin’ 60s gang in the Crenshaw neighborhood of South Central LA. Both wanted to rap, but Holder never reached Hussle’s level of success.
The men ran into each other outside The Marathon, Hussle’s clothing store, and spoke about a rumour that Holder was a law enforcement informant. Holder left the area only to return and shoot Hussle in a “heat of passion” after being accused of being a “snitch,” his defense attorney argued during the trial.
Hussle had just released his major-label debut album, Victory Lap, and was nominated for his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album before he was killed. In 2020, he was awarded two posthumous Grammys for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap/Sung Performance for Rack In The Middle and Higher, respectively.
On Aug. 15, 2022, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on what would have been his 37th birthday. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
Eric Holder was jailed for at least 60 years on Feb 22, 2023. Photo: AFP
