Rapper Nipsey Hussle was gunned down outside his clothing shop in a calculated, premeditated fashion by a man upset over a discussion about snitching, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday at the outset of of a long-delayed murder trial.
Deputy District Attorney John McKinney said during his opening statement that there’s “no doubt” Eric R. Holder knew in advance that he would kill Hussle. The prosecutor described the sequence of events, including the talk about “snitching,” before Hussle’s shooting death three years ago in the South Los Angeles neighborhood where both men grew up and the rapper was helping revitalize. Two others were wounded in the shooting.
In addition to shooting Hussle at least 10 times, Holder kicked the rapper in the head before fleeing, McKinney told the jury assembled in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.
“He clearly thought about what he was going to do before he did it,” McKinney told jurors about Holder’s intentions.
Holder, 32, faces one count of first degree-murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Hussle, a hip-hop artist, father of two, and widely beloved South L.A. local born Ermias Asghedom, was shot and killed at age 33 on March 31, 2019, in the parking lot outside his store, known as The Marathon.
McKinney said Holder and Hussle knew each other, growing up in the same neighborhood where they were members of the same gang, the Rollin’ 60s.
In his opening statement, McKinney showed jurors videos and photos of the shooting and its aftermath. Images showed the shooting and Holder fleeing the scene, wearing a red shirt and bandana while carrying a semiautomatic gun and a revolver. After a two-day manhunt, Holder was arrested, and two months later he was indicted by a grand jury.
McKinney said the shooting stemmed from Hussle hearing that Holder was a snitch and needed to “clear that up.” Before the shooting, he said the rapper and his two friends were having a “cool conversation” with Holder. He said Hussle visited the store without any security.
Attorney Aaron Jansen has a formidable task in defending Holder, who could get life in prison if convicted. Multiple eyewitnesses who knew both Holder and Hussle told police and grand jurors that Holder walked up to Hussle and gunned him down.
Jansen has said that the killing of Hussle was not premeditated, and the shooting of the other two men was not intended at all, making the first-degree murder and attempted murder charges excessive. He is also likely to make Holder’s mental health an issue.
On Wednesday, Jansen said Holder was triggered and didn’t have time to cool off before he gunned down Hussle saying this is a case of “heated passion.”