A 32-year-old man has been found guilty of the 2019 murder of American rapper Nipsey Hussle.
Eric Holder has been convicted of first-degree murder, attempted voluntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm in the killing of Hussle, who was shot dead outside his clothing store in south Los Angeles.
The jury returned its verdict after watching surveillance and police body-camera images of the shooting, which showed the moment Holder appeared with guns and when Hussle, whose real name was Ermias Joseph Asghedom, collapsed to the ground.
About 10 minutes after Hussle collapsed, Holder returned to the scene and opened fire. The rapper was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead, with his cause of death ruled a homicide. Two other people were also injured during the shooting.
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Holder and Hussle grew up with connections to the same south LA gang, named the Rollin' 60s.
Holder's attorney, Aaron Jansen, acknowledged Holder had killed Hussle but urged jurors to find him guilty on a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, arguing the shooting took place after Hussle told Holder about rumours he was acting as an informant to authorities.
"That heat of passion consisted of being called publicly a snitch by someone as famous as Nipsey Hussle. This is a provocation that stirs up rage and powerful emotion," Jansen said.
Jansen claimed Holder's gang life was behind him, and that he had only stopped near Hussle's clothing store while looking to get some food, at which point the pair got into their exchange.
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He told the jury: "This was a serious accusation that someone of Nipsey Hussle’s stature was making against little Eric Holder Jr., who had just come into the neighbourhood to get his chili-cheese fries."
Prosecutors, on the other hand, claimed the exchange between Hussle and Holder did not show signs of hostility and instead said there was a 'preexisting jealousy or envy' at play.
They used closing arguments in the case to draw attention to Hussle's relationship with the neighbourhood in which he had his store, saying: "He was no longer a gangbanger. He was a world-known recording artist and so much more. It really is a shame that his life was so brutally and coldly taken, on his own property, in his own neighbourhood, by someone from his own gang. By somebody that he considered a friend.”
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The jury returned their verdict after more than five hours of deliberations. In relation to one of the people injured in the shooting, Holder was found not guilty of attempted murder. He now faces up to life in prison.
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Topics: Crime, Music, US News, Los Angeles