Nipsey Hussle: A jury finds the man guilty of the hip-hop artist’s murder

CNN
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A Los Angeles jury has convicted Eric Ronald Holder Jr. of first-degree murder in the shooting of late rapper Nipsey Hussle.

favorite actress, born Ermias Joseph Ashghdom, was fatally shot on March 31, 2019 near a Marathon clothing store in South Los Angeles. He was 33 years old.

Holder, who knew Hussle, was approached by him over allegations that he called him a snitch, prosecutors said.

“We told you that Mr. Holder Jr. shot Mr. Ashgodom,” defense attorney Aaron Jansen said during closing arguments last week, asking jurors to consider lower charges. “We told you that it was premeditated murder and that he acted with passion. And we told you what it consisted of in the heat of passion on which he acted – that it consisted of being publicly called a snitch by someone as famous as Nipsey Hussle and we believe that is what the evidence has shown.”

But Attorney General John McKinney argued that Holder was not consumed with anger that day.

“We have a systematic step-by-step plan to get back into that parking lot and kill. It wasn’t done in the heat of a passion, in fact, it was done 10 minutes into the conversation, in fact it was done after he shook Nipsey Hussle’s hand,” he said.

After the verdict was pronounced, Hussle’s friend Hermann “Cowboy” Douglas said the late artist had never called Holder and still wanted answers as to why his friend was shot.

“This was so meaningless, why?” asked, rhetorically.

Douglas said the conversation between Hussell and Holder “never heated up” on that fateful day.

“I’m just sad, I miss my boyfriend. He’s supposed to be here and he’s supposed to stay here. He was the underdog who made it,” said Douglas, who testified during the trial.

“I don’t wish people to die,” he said of Holder. “Give us some conclusion, let’s find out why.”

A father of two, a Grammy Award winner and successful entrepreneur, Hustle was the founder of the record label All Money In, which debuted with the release of “The Marathon,” the rapper’s fifth official tape. His 2013 release “Crenshaw” sold over 1,000 tapes each for $100, according to him Click on Atlantic Records Personal Biography.

Hussle has collaborated with dozens of artists during his career, including Kendrick Lamar, Drake, YG, Ty Dolla Sign, Meek Mill, and Young Thug.

Holder is due to be sentenced in September. CNN has reached out to his attorney for comment.