Representation for Eric Holder Jr., the man accused of killing hip hop artist Nipsey Hussle, believes that their client was motivated by “passion.” In his presentation for closing arguments on Thursday, Aaron Jansen told the jury that Hussle’s alleged accusatory statement that Holder is a “snitch” made the defendant so enraged that he couldn’t think clearly.
“This was a serious accusation that someone of Nipsey Hussle’s stature was making against little Eric Holder Jr., who had just come into the neighborhood to get his chili-cheese fries,” Jansen said.
Holder, who lived in Long Beach at the time of the 2019 shooting that ended Hussle’s life, traveled all the way back to his old neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles for chili-cheese fries at a local restaurant. He just so happened to see Hussle at his place of business off of Slauson and decided to pay his “childhood friend” a visit, according to Jansen.
After Holder was blindsided by Hussle’s comments, he went to the vehicle he came in and retrieved guns before shooting Hussle several times.
“Clearly, emotions did not have time to clear in that short amount of time,” Jansen said. “There was no cooling off period. There was no time to reflect.”
Holder’s daunting kick to Hussle’s head while he was bleeding out on the parking lot ground was described as Holder showing “rage” and “heat of passion.” Jansen’s reframing of Holder’s thought process and intention will be essential to Holder’s sentencing. The defense attorney is asking that Holder be charged with voluntary manslaughter instead of first-degree murder.
On the opposite side of closing arguments, the prosecution argued that Holder’s motive was more aligned with “jealousy” than a last-minute rampage of passion. From witness testimony, words exchanged between Hussle and Holder were said to be nonconfrontational and more so an advisory to Holder.
“The motive for killing Nipsey Hussle had little or nothing to do with the conversation they had,” John McKinney, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, said in court. “There was already a preexisting jealousy or envy.”
McKinney continued, “This man was different…He wanted to change the neighborhood. He kept the same friends. And the neighborhood loved him. They called him Neighborhood Nip.”
McKinney went on to show jurors the length of time it took Holder to retrieve his weapons, about 10 minutes, and how the amount of time was enough for the defendant to contemplate his actions.
“He thought about it and he did it,” McKinney said. “That’s all premeditated means. It doesn’t mean he planned it for weeks.”
Holder is charged with first-degree murder and faces life in prison if convicted.
