Nipsey Hussle: Jury finds man guilty of murder in 2019 shooting of rapper

Eric Ronald Holder Jr has been found guilty of first-degree murder for shooting rapper Nipsey Hussle in 2019.

Holder was also charged with two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter for two others who were injured in the shooting. He faces a maximum of life in prison.

The Los Angeles County jury deliberated for about six hours over two days before reaching the verdict earlier today (6 July).

Holder’s attorney conceded that his client shot and killed Hussle – legal name Ermias Asghedom – but contended the crime was committed in the “heat of passion” and not premeditated, making him not guilty of first-degree murder.

The shooting followed an altercation between the two men who had known each other for years and were part of the same South Los Angeles street gang. Holder’s lawyer said he had been accused of being a “snitch” by Hussle outside the rapper’s clothing store in Los Angeles, after which Holder went and then returned with a gun used to shoot him.

Deputy District Attorney John McKinney argued that the nine minutes between the conversation and the shooting allowed enough time for the killing to be premeditated, a requirement for first-degree murder. Hussle was shot at least 10 times.

Hussle died aged 33, just after the release of his major-label debut album Victory Lap, which earned his first Grammy nomination.

“He wanted to change the neighbourhood,” McKinney said in his closing statement. “He kept the same friends. And the neighbourhood loved him. They called him Neighborhood Nip.”