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The Nipsey Hussle murder trial began this week with the jury hearing opening statements from both sides. Eric Holder Jr has been charged with the rapper’s death.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the latter was charged with one count of murder, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, and two counts of attempted murder. Holder will face prison for life if he is convicted. He has currently pleaded not guilty.
Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed in front of his clothing store, The Marathon, on March 31, 2019. A medical examiner testified that the father-of-two was shot at least 10 times. Round piercings near his lungs, which had severed his spinal cord, were found. Law enforcement also found eight casings from a .40-caliber pistol at the scene. Six bullets were also pulled from Hussle’s body.
Deputy District Attorney John McKinney argued that there was “no doubt” that Eric Holder Jr. knew that he would kill Hussle. Prosecutors told the grand jury that witnesses heard Nipsey Hussle accuse his alleged killer Holder of snitching during a conversation. A witness had told the grand jury in early May:
“Nipsey was like, 'Man, you know, they got some paperwork on you, you know. I haven’t read it, you know. Like you my bro, you know. Like maybe you need to take care of that, you know.”
Another witness testified that during the shooting, they heard Holder utter the words,
"You’re through."
He added that he also heard Hussle attempt to say a name after he was fatally shot.
Were there other victims of the Nipsey Hussle shooting?
As Eric Holder Jr. allegedly fired at Hussle, two other victims, Kerry Lathan and Shermi Villanueva were also shot. The former was shot once in the back, while the latter suffered a grazed wound after the bullet struck his belt.
Public defender Aaron Jansen told jurors during the court hearing that the case was about the “heat of passion.” He added:
“In the gang world, in the criminal world, there are images from movies, Scarface, where rats, or snitches, have gotten their just desserts.”
As Jansen continued to speak in the Los Angeles courtroom, images from Scarface appeared on a large TV in the courtroom. A scene from the film showed a character, who had snitched, being hung from a helicopter.
Prosecutors also played a black and white video of the shooting twice in the courtroom. The prosecutor added that the jury would be hearing and viewing evidence during the trial, proving that Holder had ample time “to think about what he was going to do before he did it.”
Following opening statements, Herman Douglas was called by McKinney, who confirmed that Nipsey Hussle was talking to his friends when Holder appeared unexpectedly. Douglas, a self-proclaimed Rollin 60’s gang member, stated that Hussle was “looking out” for Holder as “Nip was on a friendship-type thing.”
Douglas stated that he was inside the store’s break room when he heard bullet shots outside. He added that he ran out and found the rapper lying on his back in the parking lot. Speaking about Hussle being shot, Douglas said:
“He was still breathing till he got to the ambulance. He just kept trying to get up, raise up.”
Before the shooting, a woman who was present with Holder also testified that she was unaware that Holder was a gang member or that he was responsible for the shooting.
She also testified that she went to the police to speak about the shooting after seeing Nipsey Hussle’s murder on the news. However, the police told her not to “worry about it” and “don’t listen to the news.”
