Eric Holder Jr. was unable to attend his trial in the Nipsey Hussle murder Tuesday (June 28, 2022). The reason for this is said to be injuries he sustained in custody shortly after leaving a Los Angeles courtroom the day before.
Nipsey Hussle, who was 33 at the time of the crime, was arrested on March 31, 2019 shot dead in a parking lot in front of his Marathon Clothing store in Los Angeles. The suspect was arrested two days later in Los Angeles.
negotiation postponed
Complaint Judge H. Clay Jack told the jury that the day’s session was canceled due to “unforeseen circumstances.” Defense attorney Aaron Jansen told ROLLING STONE that two inmates attacked and beat his client. “He was cut in the back of the head with a razor and received three staples. His face is swollen and so is his eye.”
The exact course of the crime is unclear. After all, Holder should actually be separated from other prisoners during transports.
Planned murder or act in the affect?
The trial of Nipsey Hussle’s murder began earlier this month. During the trial, Holder’s defense attorney, Jansen, argued that while his client shot Hussle and killed him, the act was done in a fit of emotion.
As a motive, Jansen stated that shortly before the crime, Hussle accused his client of being a spy. This statement made Holder so angry that he opened fire on the rapper a few minutes later.
Assistant District Attorney John McKinney countered that Holder left the first meeting in a car with no sign of any aggression. After that, Holder is said to have instructed a person close to him to wait in a parking lot. He then returned to Nipsey Hussle’s shop armed with a semi-automatic pistol and a smaller revolver.
“You will hear evidence of this and see that he had ample opportunity to think about what he wanted to do before he did it,” the prosecutor said. “From the moment he got out of the car and walked all the way back to that mall and walked up to these gentlemen and started shooting.”
Closing arguments begin this Thursday (June 30).