(Fwrd Axis) — The murder trial for rapper Nipsey Hussle’s killer, Eric Holder, began a week ago on June 15 at the Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles, California.
Nipsey Hussle, whose real name is Ermias Asghedom, was gunned down March 31, 2019 outside his Marathon Clothing store in South LA.
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According to prosecutors in the case, Hussle, 33 when he was murdered, was shot at least 10 times by Eric Holder who used two guns to execute the Grammy award winning artist.
Holder was indicted for the murder of Nipsey Hussle, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He faces life in prison if convicted and has pleaded not guilty despite overwhelming evidence, video footage of him murdering Nipsey, and numerous eyewitnesses.
Aaron Jansen is the L.A. County Deputy Public Defender for Eric Holder and in his opening statement he admitted that his client killed Nipsey Hussle.
The defense is trying to paint Nipsey’s killer as someone who murdered him in “the heat of passion” after a conversation the two men had about Holder being a snitch.
“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.’” ─witness statement
Nipsey Hussle and Eric Holder grew up in the same hood where they were members of The Rollin 60’s Neighborhood Crips, a street gang originally formed in Los Angeles in 1976 from the Westside Crips.
Bryannita Nicholson, the woman who drove Holder to and from the murder scene, gave very detailed testimony about what she experienced the day Eric Holder killed Nipsey Hussle.
Nicholson, a key prosecution witness who is getting immunity in exchange, said that when she and Holder arrived at the shopping center on March 31, 2019, she was surprised to see Nipsey. Nicholson said she didn’t know that Nip owned the shopping center where his clothing store, The Marathon, was located as well as the restaurant where Eric Holder made her stop at.
Holder exited the vehicle and approached Nipsey without mentioning to Nicholson that he and Hussle had ties to the same gang.
Nicholson eventually joined Holder after she found somewhere to park, and he was talking to Nipsey with his voice raised.
“Eric was asking Nipsey, ‘Did you tell somebody I snitched?’” ─Nicholson testified
Nicholson said she waited until the conversation ended then took a selfie with Nipsey Hussle, which is possibly the final photo of him alive.
“I was just excited, I was happy, I wanted to show my Facebook friends, I hurried back to the car and posted the picture.” ─Nicholson testified
Holder then went into the Master Burger restaurant nearby, came out with food, and made Nicholson drive around the block. While she was doing that, he loaded a black semi-auto handgun.
“I was like, ‘What are you doing? Put that away, you ain’t going to shoot nothing outside my car.’” ─Nicholson testified
Eric Holder instructed Bryannita Nicholson to pull into an alley where Holder said he was stopping to eat. He took a few bites of his food, and told Nicholson not to go anywhere — he would be right back.
Nicholson said she thought Holder was going to buy something from Nipsey Hussle’s clothing store, but shortly after he left the car she heard gunshots.
When Holder appeared Nicholson mentioned he was “power-walking,” and quickly got in. When she asked what happened, Eric just said, “You talk too much, I ought to slap you.” and “Drive! Drive!”
Shermi Villanueva and Kerry Lathan were the other men shot and recounted what they saw in Nipsey’s final moments after Eric Holder pulled the trigger.
“He shot me. He shot me,” Villanueva recalled Nipsey saying while lying in a pool of blood.
The bullets penetrated Nipsey Hussle’s head, spine, and torso.
A witness heard Eric Holder say “You’re through” to Nipsey before shooting, which is a premeditated attack, debunking the “heat of the moment” bullshit that Holder’s defense is claiming.
Another disturbing detail revealed during the trial is that after Eric Holder shot Nipsey Hussle multiple times, he kicked him in the head twice while he was on the ground dying.
John McKinney, the Deputy District Attorney, may conclude the prosecution’s case against Holder as early as June 22.
Aaron Jansen declined to inform the press of any witnesses he might call in Holder’s defense. A jury could be deliberating by Friday June 24.
