LOS ANGELES (AP) – A Los Angeles judge on Wednesday sentenced the man convicted of the fatal shooting of Nipsey Hussle. to 60 years to life in prison after Wills heard about the massive cost of killing a hip-hop star and neighborhood leader, and a life of mental illness, abuse, and struggle for the man who shot him.
Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jack II has granted a deferred sentence to Eric R. Holder Jr., 33, who was convicted of the 2019 first-degree murder of the 33-year-old Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist. Outside the clothing store Hussle founded, Marathonin the South Los Angeles neighborhood where the two men grew up in very similar circumstances.
“I am fully aware of what has been presented in respect of Mr. Holder’s mental health,” said Jack. I am also aware of the devastation of the victims and their families. I think this sentence balances the two.”
After the month-long trial, jurors in July also convicted Holder of two counts of attempted premeditated murder and two counts of a shooting attack with a firearm that injured two other men who survived at the scene.
Jack sentenced Holder to 25 years in prison for murder, another 25 years for enhanced sentence with a firearm, and 10 for assault with a firearm. He made many other additions to the provisions, and commanded that the others should work concurrently. He also gave Holder credit for the nearly four years he has spent since the shooting.
Holder, dressed in an orange prison uniform, stared straight ahead throughout the proceedings and did not react when the verdict was read, speaking only to let the judge know he understood the circumstances when asked.
In a pre-sentencing effect statement, Herman “Cowboy” Douglas, a close friend of Hussle’s who had stood with him when he was murdered and testified during the trial, told the judge that the killing was a huge loss for him. personally and for the South Los Angeles community where Hussle was a pioneer and source of inspiration.
“Nipsey was my friend,” Douglas said, “he was like a son, he was like a father.” “Our society has now lost everything and everything we worked for. One man’s mistake, one man’s action, it has blighted the whole community.”
The Hussle store and the surrounding businesses he owns and support have closed, Douglas said, meaning “the Homies have nothing to do.”
Douglas told the judge, “I don’t care what you give this guy. It’s not about the time. I just want to know why. The world wants to know why. Why would someone do that?”
Actor Lorraine London, who was Hussle’s partner and mother of his two young children, did not attend any part of the trial, nor did any of his relatives, none of whom make similar impact statements.
Hussle, whose legal name is Ermias Asghedom, and Holder They have known each other for years growing up as members From the 1960s in South Los Angeles. Both of them were aspiring rappers. But Holder did not find the same success as Hussle, who would become a local hero and national figure.
The evidence against Holder was so overwhelming—from eyewitnesses to security cameras from local businesses that captured his arrival, shooting, and departure—that his attorney admitted at trial that he shot Hassell.
But Holder’s attorney, Aaron Jansen, argued to jurors that the heated conditions of the shooting meant that a lower sentence of first-degree murder was worth.
The jury returned with a verdict of first degree murder after nearly six hours of deliberation.
A year after his death, Hussle was memorialized at a memorial in the square then known as Staples Center, and celebrated at the Grammy Awards. which included DJ Khaled and John Legend.
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Follow AP Entertainment writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
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