Eric Holder was found guilty on Wednesday by a jury in Los Angeles of killing rapper Nipsey Hussle in the first degree.
The jury, which was made up of nine women and three men, took about seven hours to reach a unanimous decision on Wednesday morning.
As the foreperson read the verdict in front of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke, Holder remained motionless.
He could receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
For shooting Kerry Lathan and Shermi Cervinta Villanueva as they stood with Nipsey Hussle in front of the rapper’s Marathon clothing store on March 31, 2019, the jury also found Holder guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
Holder blasted the crowd with over ten shots.
He was initially accused of killing Lathan and Villanueva, but the jury ultimately found him guilty of the lesser crime of willing manslaughter.
Hussle’s opponent Lathan was shot in the back and left paralyzed as a result of his wounds.
Villanueva only received a minor wound from a bullet.
Holder also found the allegations that he personally used a firearm to cause great bodily harm and death to be true and was found guilty of having a firearm while a felon on probation.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers argued over Holder and Hussle’s final encounter during the two-week trial because they both lived in the same neighborhood as children.
Hussle accused Holder of being a snitch, and Holder’s public defender Aaron Jansen claimed that his client shot Hussle in the heat of the moment.
John McKinney, a deputy district attorney, asserted that the shooting was premeditated Hussle was actually attempting to clear Holder’s name, according to the prosecutor, who claimed that Hussle never accused Holder of being a snitch.
Bryannita Nicholson, a crucial witness, claimed to have seen Holder loading a semi-automatic weapon with ammunition while he was in her car. Holder had a close friendship with Nicholson, who testified that he had told her to leave her car in an alleyway while he got out.
During the trial, a video was shown of Holder returning to the Marathon store parking lot, where he confronted Hustle and shot him eleven times.
Before leaving the scene, Holder gave the popular rapper a “personal” kick to the head, according to McKinney, who testified before the jury.
Evan McKenzie, a fourth man who was present when the shooting took place, fled the area.
McKenzie was the subject of a $500,000 warrant during the trial because she neglected to appear in court when she was supposed to testify.
Nicholson claimed to have heard gunshots despite not having seen the shooting. A short while later, Holder returned to her vehicle and ordered her to stop talking and leave the area.
Nicholson claimed that she observed Holder placing two weapons—a semi-automatic and a handgun—into a bag before leaving the alleyway.
Witness Given that Holder, Hussle, and he were all formerly associated with the South Los Angeles Rollin’ 60s Crips street gang, Herman Douglas testified that he knew both of them.
He claimed that Holder didn’t appear agitated or angry when he first spoke to Hussle 10 minutes prior to the shooting.
Douglas claims that Hussle was actually attempting to assist Holder when he informed him that the neighborhood was saying he had “paperwork,” which meant Holder was somehow associated with a case and needed to clear his name.
Douglas testified that Holder shook Hussle’s hand as they parted ways, but Holder’s lawyer claimed his client left the scene enraged, which led him to return ten minutes later and shoot Hussle in the heart of rage.
During his closing remarks, McKinney argued to the jury that Holder had plenty of time to turn around and leave, but chose to ambush the popular rapper and shoot two additional men.
According to the evidence, he went over there intending to kill everyone there, McKinney said. Nipsey was obviously the target, but (Holder) was ready to kill or drive everyone away.
