Nipsey Hussle’s Killer Suffers Critical Legal Defeat

A California appeals court upheld Eric Holder’s conviction for the 2019 murder of Nipsey Hussle. According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, a three-judge panel ruled against Holder on Tuesday (November 5).

Holder claimed the trial court abused its discretion when it sustained the prosecution’s objection to his lawyer’s closing arguments in his 2022 trial. California’s Second District Court of Appeal disagreed.

“Nothing in the trial court’s rulings prevented appellant from arguing objective and subjective provocation to the jury or from clearly articulating the defense theory that ‘appellant acted in the heat of passion as a result of being publicly called a snitch’ by ‘the famous, the great Nipsey Hussle,’” the appeals court noted. “The trial court did not abuse its discretion in prohibiting defense counsel from telling the jury what appellant was thinking and feeling at the time of the shooting to explain appellant’s conduct.”

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Nipsey’s killer was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted voluntary manslaughter, assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon. A judge sentenced Holder to 60 years to life in prison.

Holder said the judge wrongfully included a firearm enhancement in his sentence. The appeals court found no issues with the judge’s decision.

“Contrary to appellant’s claim, the record here affirmatively shows the trial court fully understood and properly exercised its discretion when it declined to dismiss the firearm enhancement,” the three-judge panel ruled. “Highlighting the evidence that appellant used not one, but two guns in his violent attack which killed [Nipsey] and wounded [Kerry] Lathan and [Shermi] Villanueva, the court declared its finding ‘by clear and convincing evidence’ that dismissal of any enhancements in this case ‘would endanger public safety’ … The court emphasized its responsibility to consider and evaluate the mitigation evidence presented by the defense, particularly the evidence of appellant’s history of mental illness, and it indicated that the sentence it was about to pronounce balanced appellant’s mitigating evidence with the devastation appellant had caused to the victims and their families.”

Holder fatally shot Nipsey outside the late rapper’s clothing store in Los Angeles. Nipsey was 33.