A Judge denied Eric Holder Jr.’s defense lawyer’s attempt to have his client’s first-degree murder conviction reduced for the killing of rapper-entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke also denied a defense motion for a new trial.
Aaron Jansen motioned for a second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter conviction, according to NBC Los Angeles. He stated in the motion that a conviction of voluntary manslaughter would “be consistent with the other two verdicts” Holder received for attempted voluntary manslaughter. Holder was also charged with attempted murder for the injuries of two others but was not convicted of those charges.
On July 6, Holder was convicted of first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in the March 31, 2019 shooting death of the Grammy Award-winning rapper in front of the latter’s South Los Angeles clothing store.
During the trial, Deputy District Attorney John McKinney argued that Holder’s shooting of Hussle, real name Ermias Joseph Asghedom, was “cold-blooded” and “calculated.” He shot the rapper 10 to 11 times.
“Saying, ‘You’re through,’ before shooting him and shooting him a number of times … kicking him in the head, that’s personal … What makes this murder first-degree is premeditation and deliberation,” the prosecutor said, NBC reports.
Holder’s defense team conceded that he did indeed shoot Asghedom, but it was not premeditated. It was in the “heat of passion.” The defense told the jury that Holder shot the rapper nine minutes and 10 seconds after being “called publicly a snitch by someone as famous as Nipsey Hussle,” stating that Holder had “no cooling-off period.”
Holder, who faces life in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 22.
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