Holder was found guilty of first-degree murder last summer.
Eric Holder Jr. -- the man convicted last summer in the killing of GRAMMY-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle -- has been sentenced to 60 years to life in prison.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke announced the sentencing Wednesday, months after Holder's attorney, Aaron Jansen, filed several motions, which delayed the sentencing. Jansen had wanted a reduced conviction and a new trial, but Jacke denied the motions last year.
Back in July, Holder Jr. was convicted of first-degree murder following a three-week trial that had also been delayed for years due to the pandemic. The jury deliberated for less than an hour on the second day of deliberations before finding Holder guilty. Holder, who fatally shot Hussle in March 2019, was also found guilty of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter, after two innocent bystanders were wounded as a result of the shooting. The bystanders survived.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged the L.A. rapper's shooting was premeditated and deliberate. L.A. Deputy District Attorney John McKinney argued that there was "no doubt" Holder had thought out his actions and shot Hussle -- whose real name was Ermias Asghedom -- with the intention of killing him following a heated argument outside the rapper's L.A. clothing store.
Hussle was shot 10 times in the incident, with one round severing his spinal cord and three rounds puncturing his lungs. McKinney stated that "even if he survived, Nipsey would have been paraplegic."
Jansen, a public defender who took over Holder's case after former O.J. Simpson prosecutor Chris Darden withdrew citing death threats, didn't deny at trial that his client pulled the trigger, but he argued his client should have instead been charged with voluntary manslaughter because "this is a case about the heat of the passion."
According to Jansen, Hussle had accused Holder of "snitching" during their heated argument, and the remark made Holder "so enflamed and enraged" that he acted without thinking and without having time to "cool off."
Actress Lauren London, who honored her late partner and the father of her 5-year-old son, Kross Asghedom, at the late rapper's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony last year, spoke shortly after Holder's conviction and opened up about life after Hussle's death.
During an appearance on the iHeartRadio podcast Angie Martinez IRL, London noted that she understands the urge that others have to approach her cautiously during her grieving journey, saying that she appreciates it when people are sensitive with her because she has moments of vulnerability. But that sentiment can have a dark side.
"I really am grateful for it when it's genuine, but I don't like it when it's pity," she stated. "I feel when it's like, 'Oh I couldn't imagine going through that.' No one ever wants to feel like their situation is the worst thing anyone can imagine because then it makes you feel isolated in your human experience. You kind of want to feel like it's OK, and that other people could be going through something too. The pity makes me feel pitiful."
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