The murder trial of Nipsey Hussle’s alleged killer is finally set to begin next month.
Eric Holder, the man suspected of gunning down the rapper, will face a jury in the high-profile case, which was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, a Los Angeles judge ordered both sides back to court on June 2 to begin jury selection, reports Rolling Stone. Once a jury is selected, testimony is expected to last two weeks.
“We have been looking forward to the day that we could present evidence in court on this case. But for the COVID emergency, this case would have been tried quite some time ago,” said Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John McKinney.
Prosecutors claim Holder fired at least 10 shots at Hussle with a black semiautomatic handgun in one hand and a smaller revolver in the other in the parking lot of his Marathon Clothing store in L.A. on March 31, 2019.
After killing the 33-year-old rapper, Holder allegedly kicked Nipsey in the head and fled the scene, a police detective testified.
Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, arrived “unannounced” at his store the day of the shooting and was talking with friends when Holder appeared unexpectedly. During their four-minute conversation, Nipsey allegedly accused Holder of snitching.
“Nipsey was basically looking out for him, telling him that, you know, ‘I haven’t read it, I don’t know if it’s true or not, but you need to address it.’ That’s what Nipsey was doing,” testified Herman Douglas, a witness who worked for Asghedom and was present for the conversation.
Holder left after the conversation and returned six minutes later. “Obviously that conversation about snitching was enough that it moved Eric Holder to a point of wanting to return to the parking lot and kill Nipsey Hussle,” McKinney told the grand jury. “As he approached, he was prepared to fire as many shots as necessary and shoot as many people as necessary to ensure that he killed Nipsey Hussle.”
Holder was indicted on one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder for the bullets that struck two bystanders, two counts of assault with a firearm, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. If convicted as charged, he faces a possible life sentence.