Eric Ronald Holder Jr.: Nipsey Hussle Trial, Verdict, and Sentence

Eric Ronald Holder Jr. is the man convicted in the Nipsey Hussle murder case. A Los Angeles County jury found Holder guilty of first-degree murder on July 6, 2022, for shooting the rapper outside his Marathon Clothing store on March 31, 2019, and Judge H. Clay Jacke II sentenced him on February 22, 2023, to 60 years to life in state prison.¹² California’s appellate courts have since upheld the conviction and closed off his state appeals.

Who Eric Holder Is

Holder and Hussle, whose legal name was Ermias Asghedom, both came out of the Rollin’ 60s set of the Crips in South Los Angeles. Hussle built a music career from those roots and earned a Grammy nomination for his 2018 album Victory Lap. Holder rapped under the name “Fly Mac.” Prosecutors later told the jury his career had “gained next to no attention,” and argued jealousy was part of what drove him.³

The felon-in-possession count in his indictment confirmed a prior felony conviction, though the details of that conviction were not publicly elaborated on during the trial. His defense attorney, Aaron Jansen, later told the court that Holder had been diagnosed with “auditory schizophrenia” at age 19, suffered from paranoia, and heard voices. About three weeks before the shooting, according to the defense, Holder threw a heavy weight through a window during a manic episode driven by fears he would be killed.³

What Happened Outside the Marathon Clothing Store

On the afternoon of March 31, 2019, Holder arrived at the strip mall at Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard in a car driven by Bryannita Nicholson, a Lyft driver he had been seeing for about a month. Nicholson testified she had no idea Holder and Hussle knew each other, and that he had never taken her to South Los Angeles before.⁴

Holder approached Hussle in the parking lot and the two spoke. Witnesses said the conversation began calmly, then turned to rumors that Holder had cooperated with law enforcement. Holder walked back to Nicholson’s car, where she watched him load a handgun on the seat next to her and told him to put it away. Roughly nine minutes after the initial exchange, he returned on foot with a semiautomatic handgun and a revolver. Surveillance video showed him firing from both hands.⁵⁴

Hussle was struck by at least ten bullets. One round transected his spine. Before fleeing, Holder kicked him in the head. According to trial testimony, Hussle’s last words were, “He shot me. He shot me.”⁶ Two bystanders were also hit: Kerry Lathan, a friend of Hussle’s, was shot in the back, and Lathan’s nephew Shermi Villanueva was grazed but declined hospital treatment.⁷

Holder ran back to the car and ordered Nicholson to drive. She said she did not immediately understand he had shot anyone. When she recognized her car on television news, she turned herself in and was granted immunity in exchange for her testimony.⁴

Arrest and Charges

Holder was arrested on April 2, 2019, in the Bellflower area of Los Angeles, two days after the shooting; one report indicated he surrendered at a mental health clinic there.⁸⁹ In May 2019, a grand jury indicted him on one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a firearm, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, plus sentencing enhancements for personally and intentionally discharging a handgun and inflicting great bodily injury.

The Trial

The case did not go to trial until June 2, 2022, with delays largely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.¹⁰ Deputy District Attorney John McKinney prosecuted before Judge Jacke in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The Prosecution’s Theory

McKinney’s case rested on premeditation. He told jurors that after Hussle confronted Holder about the snitching rumors, Holder walked to the car, loaded his weapon, and came back minutes later to open fire. McKinney also argued that Holder resented Hussle’s success. He described the attack as “an explosion of violence” and said Hussle was shot from “the bottom of his feet to the top of his head.” Surveillance video of Holder firing from both hands was central. Herman “Cowboy” Douglas, a friend of Hussle, testified that Holder shook hands with the group before leaving and returning to shoot. Nicholson testified about what she saw before and after.⁵

The Defense’s Theory

Jansen did not dispute that Holder pulled the trigger. He argued the killing was not premeditated and should be treated as voluntary manslaughter committed in the “heat of passion.” Being publicly accused of snitching by someone of Hussle’s stature, in their shared gang territory, provoked a reaction so intense, Jansen contended, that Holder was “incapable of rational thought.” Private investigator Robert Freeman testified that a snitch label from a high-ranking gang figure was effectively a death sentence, and that firing two guns at once actually reduces accuracy, cutting against the idea of a planned attack.¹¹ Judge Jacke allowed the jury to consider voluntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense.

Reluctant Witnesses

Prosecutors had a hard time getting people to cooperate. Kerry Lathan, one of the bystanders shot in the attack, refused to identify himself in the surveillance footage or to identify Holder as the shooter, telling the court, “I don’t know nothing, don’t see nothing.”¹² Villanueva was also reluctant. Another eyewitness, Evan “Rimpau” MacKenzie, ignored subpoenas until Judge Jacke issued a bench warrant. Detective Cedric Washington testified that multiple witnesses feared their families would be endangered if they cooperated.¹³

Attack in Custody

On June 28, 2022, during the trial, Holder was attacked in a Los Angeles County jail holding cell while awaiting transport to court. Two inmates struck him from behind, punching him and slashing him with a razor. He lost consciousness and needed three staples to close a wound at the back of his head. The assailants did not speak to him, and the motive was unclear. The trial was briefly suspended, and Holder returned to court the next day with visible staples in his head.¹⁴

The Verdict

On July 6, 2022, after eight days of testimony, jurors found Holder guilty of first-degree murder for killing Hussle. On the charges tied to the two bystanders, they rejected the attempted murder counts and instead convicted him of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a firearm. They also convicted him of possession of a firearm by a felon and found true the allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a handgun and personally inflicted great bodily injury.¹¹⁵

Jansen moved to reduce the murder conviction to voluntary manslaughter or second-degree murder and also moved for a new trial. Judge Jacke denied both motions on December 19, 2022.¹

The 60-Years-to-Life Sentence

On February 22, 2023, Judge Jacke sentenced Holder to 60 years to life in state prison. The sentence broke down as:

25 years to life for the first-degree murder of Nipsey Hussle.
25 years to life for the firearm enhancement based on personally and intentionally discharging a handgun.
10 years for the two assault with a firearm convictions.

Holder, dressed in orange jail attire, stared straight ahead and showed no reaction as the sentence was read. Hussle’s partner, Lauren London, and his relatives did not attend and were not expected to give victim-impact statements. A letter from Holder’s father was read in court.²¹⁶ Herman “Cowboy” Douglas addressed the court. “Nipsey was my friend, he was like a son, he was like a dad. Our community right now, we lost everything, everything we worked for,” Douglas said. “I don’t care what you give this guy. It ain’t about the time. I just want to know why. The world wants to know why.”

Appeals

Holder’s appeal went to California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal, where a three-justice panel considered two main arguments: that Judge Jacke improperly barred defense counsel from describing Holder’s internal thoughts and feelings during closing arguments, and that the judge should have dismissed the 25-years-to-life firearm enhancement. The panel rejected both, ruling there was no evidence to support inferences about Holder’s internal state and that the trial judge properly exercised discretion in declining to dismiss the enhancement, even after weighing mental health mitigation. On November 5, 2024, the appellate court upheld the conviction and sentence. On January 15, 2025, the California Supreme Court declined to review the case, closing his state appellate options.¹⁷

1
NBC Los Angeles. Nipsey Hussle Murder Trial: Eric Holder Convicted
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PBS NewsHour. Nipsey Hussle’s Killer Sentenced to 60 Years to Life in Prison
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Los Angeles Times. Nipsey Hussle Murder: Eric Holder Jr. Sentencing
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Los Angeles Times. How a Lyft Driver Became the Unwitting Getaway Driver in Nipsey Hussle Slaying
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NBC Los Angeles. Testimony Begins in Trial of Accused Nipsey Hussle Killer
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People. Nipsey Hussle Death: Everything to Know
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Rolling Stone. Nipsey Hussle Trial: Rapper’s Last Words
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ABC7. Nipsey Hussle Trial: Murder of Eric Holder
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Fox LA. Nipsey Hussle Murder Trial: Driver Didn’t Think Holder Was Planning Shooting
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NPR. Man Found Guilty of Murder of Rapper Nipsey Hussle
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Fox LA. Nipsey Hussle Verdict: Eric Holder Trial
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Court TV. Witnesses Drag Feet at Trial of Nipsey Hussle Shooter
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CBS News. Nipsey Hussle Murder Trial: Eric Holder Witnesses Reluctant
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Los Angeles Times. Man Who Killed Nipsey Hussle Slashed, Attacked by Inmates
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KTLA. Eric Holder Convicted of First-Degree Murder in Nipsey Hussle Killing
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BBC News. Nipsey Hussle: Eric Holder Sentenced
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KFI AM 640. CA Supreme Court Won’t Hear Case of Nipsey Hussle’s Murder