Nipsey Hussle Murder Suspect Severely Assaulted in Jail: Eric Holder Trial Halted

The murder suspect in the death of Nipsey Hussle was physically beaten while in detention. Eric Holder was severely injured, so much so that he cannot stand trial.

Eric Ronald Holder Jr. was allegedly severely abused after exiting a Los Angeles courtroom on Monday afternoon (June 27) that the court hearing scheduled for June 28 had to be postponed.

Due to the high-profile nature of the case, Holder was to be separated from other inmates while being brought to court. There have been no additional reports regarding the location of the event.

Revolt reports that Hussle's murder trial was previously delayed owing to the COVID-19 outbreak. The trial's opening remarks began on June 15. On March 31, 2019, Hussle, born Ermias Joseph Asghedom, was tragically murdered in front of his Marathon Clothing Store in Los Angeles. The acclaimed musician's family, fans, and the whole hip hop community lamented his passing.

In May 2019, Holder was indicted on one count each of murder and firearm possession by a felon, as well as two charges each of attempted murder and assault with a handgun.

Deputy District Attorney John McKinney told the grand jury during opening comments that the 32-year-old approached Hussle after a disagreement that "had something to do with Mr. Asghedom accusing Mr. Holder of snitching, which is a very serious charge in the gang world."

According to McKinney, "the conversation had something to do with Mr. Asghedom telling Mr. Holder that word on the street was that Mr. Holder was snitching. The conversation wasn't particularly intense, it wasn't particularly belligerent, and it lasted for about four minutes."

The presiding judge Jacke instructed the jury to return on Wednesday (June 29) unless otherwise instructed. "Based on some unforeseen circumstances that are no fault of parties here, we won't be in session today," he said.

What happened to Nipsey Hussle, based on the opening statement of the murder trial, is devastating. His last moments were quite terrifying.

According to Holder's lawyer, the man accused of shooting Nipsey Hussle three years ago doesn't deny that he did so, only that it was a premeditated and deliberate killing that also involved the attempted murders of two other men. The lawyer's opening statement shed new light on the defense strategy for the man accused of the shooting.

In a Los Angeles courtroom, public defender Aaron Jansen told jurors, "This is a case about the heat of passion."

At the defense table, Holder just sat calmly and listened intently as his attorney spoke. Instead of the jail uniform he's been wearing since his arrest two days after Hussle's killing, he wore a blue suit and white sneakers.

"The heat of passion in this case relates to the snitching, an accusation by Nipsey Hussle that Mr. Eric Holder Jr. was a snitch," Jansen said. "In the gang world, in the criminal world, there are images from movies, Scarface, where rats, or snitches, have gotten their just desserts."

An image of a man in a noose from Scarface showed on the courtroom's huge TV as Jansen spoke. A character was hung from a helicopter for snitching on a gang member's execution. John McKinney, the deputy district attorney, took issue with Jansen's use of the disturbing image, but Jansen continued.

The outlines of the criminal case are well-known at this point in time. Several cameras caught Holder driving up to the store, which Hussle co-owned, and talking to Hussle in the parking lot. Holder then left to get some food and returned with two guns, shooting Hussle as the celebrated rapper leaned against a car next to the two other alleged victims, Kerry Lathan and Sherrod. Holder was also seen talking to Hussle in the parking lot before leaving and returning with two guns.