Nipsey Hussle’s shooter sentenced to at least 60 years in prison

Eric R Holder Jr. has been sentenced to at least 60 years in prison for shooting and killing Nipsey Hussle.

Superior Court Judge H Clay Jacke II delivered the sentence yesterday (February 22), consisting specifically of 25 years to life for murder, an additional 25 for employing firearm enhancements, and 10 more years for voluntary manslaughter after injuring two bystanders at the crime scene.  Per an Associated Press report, Holder was not eligible for the death penalty.

The sentence brings a conclusion to Holder’s trial, which began in June 2022. Three years prior, Hussle – born Ermias Joseph Asghedom – was fatally shot in March 2019 outside the Marathon Clothing store he founded in Los Angeles. Prosecutors have determined that he was shot 10 times in the head, torso and spine. He was 33.

Before the sentence was given, Herman “Cowboy” Douglas, a close friend of Hussle’s who was with him when he was killed, delivered an emotional statement on the profound loss he and his community experienced in the wake of Hussle’s death. “Nipsey was my friend, he was like a son, he was like a dad. Our community right now, we lost everything, everything we worked for. One man’s mistake, one man’s action, messed up a whole community.”

On July 6 2022, a jury declared Holder guilty of first-degree murder, alongside two counts each of attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm.

According to Rolling Stone, Holder attacked Hussle nine minutes after an initial meeting, where Hussle pointed out rumours had been circulating about Holder having “paperwork”, suggesting he might be a police informant. Holder’s defence attorney, Aaron Jansen, claimed that Holder considered the allegations a threat to his life.

Though Holder left the initial meeting with no signs of aggression, he would later ride shotgun in getaway driver Bryannita Nicholson’s car, load bullets into his semiautomatic gun, and instruct Nicholson to wait in an alley before stalking the parking lot where he would shoot Hussle. Per a Los Angeles Times report, Nicholson was granted immunity in the case, as she had turned herself in to the police and assisted in their investigations, testifying against Holder in court.

Jansen argued that Holder’s actions were not premeditated and were executed “in the heat of passion”. However, Deputy District Attorney John McKinney rebutted by highlighting that the nine minutes between the conversation and the attack was “plenty of time” to “cool down”, adding that “a cold, calculated decision to kill can be reached quickly”.

Responding to the verdict, Jensen expressed disappointment and told BBC of his intention to appeal the verdict.

Hussle was celebrated as a champion of the South Los Angeles community where he grew up. His only studio album, ‘Victory Lap’, was nominated posthumously for Best Rap Album at the 61st Grammy Awards in 2019.

The rapper would go on to bag two posthumous awards at the following year’s Grammys: Best Rap/Sung Performance for his feature on DJ Khaled’s ‘Higher’ and Best Rap Performance for ‘Racks In The Middle’, which featured Roddy Ricch and was the last single he released before his untimely death.

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