With a spatula
The man who murdered Grammy-winning rapper Nipsey Hussle was sentenced Wednesday to a minimum of 60 years in prison for the crime that rocked Los Angeles.
Eric Holder shot at least ten times against the singer and social activist in March 2019.
The man did not deny the crime, but his defense argued that he acted “on the heat of emotions” when allegedly accused by Hussle, then 33, of being a police informant.
But in July of last year, a jury found that Holder acted with premeditation and was found guilty of first-degree murder.
Judge H. Clay Jacke sentenced Holder to a minimum of 25 years for the murder, plus another 25 years for a felony firearm, and another ten years for shooting and wounding two other men who were in the area.
The crime, which was perpetrated during the day in front of a clothing store owned by the victim, rocked the Crenshaw neighborhood, where Hussle grew up and was a constant subject of his compositions.
From a very young age, he was linked to the world of gangs, and like Holder, 32, he had joined a local faction. But he changed course by standing out in the world of entertainment.
During the trial, prosecutor John McKinney said the men argued in a parking lot and that Hussle had told Holder that there was word on the street that he would be a “police informant.”
Holder left and returned with two guns and opened fire in an “explosion of violence.”
The murder was recorded on video.
McKinney called the killing “calculated” and “cold-blooded,” saying Holder had time to premeditate.
His lawyer told the jury that it was “an impulsive and reckless act” that should be classified as manslaughter.
A month after the murder, the rapper was honored with a ceremony attended by thousands of people and musical stars such as Stevie Wonder and Snoop Dogg.
Former US President Barack Obama (2009-2017) then sent a letter to pay tribute to him. “While many people only saw gangs, bullets and despair in the Crenshaw neighborhood where he grew up, Nipsey saw potential. He saw hope. He saw a community that, despite his failures, taught him to keep going ”.
Hussle, whose real name was Ermias Joseph Asghedom, received two posthumous Grammy Awards in 2020.
In August, when he would celebrate his 37th birthday, he received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
AFP