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The man convicted of gunning down Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Nipsey Hussle has been sentenced to 60 years to life in prison.

On Wednesday, after hearing testimony about the immense loss of the hip-hop star and neighborhood leader, Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke II handed down the sentence to Eric R. Holder Jr., who was previously found guilty for the 2019 first-degree murder of the 33-year-old Hussle.

It was learned during the court proceedings that Holder suffered a lifetime of mental illness and abuse.

"I am very mindful of what was presented as to Mr. Holders mental health," Jacke said. "I am also mindful of the devastation caused to the victims and their families. I believe this sentence balances the two."

RAPPER NIPSEY HUSSLES LAST MOMENTS DETAILED AS MURDER TRIAL OPENS

FILE - Rapper Nipsey Hussle attends an NBA basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks in Oakland, Calif., March 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Holder Jr. fatally shot Hussle, whose legal name is Ermias Asghedom, outside the clothing store Hussle founded, the Marathon, in a South Los Angeles neighborhood in 2019.

A jury found him guilty in July 2021.

The sentence comes after a monthlong trial, where jurors also convicted Holder of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a firearm for the gunfire that hit two other men at the scene.

The other two victims survived their injuries.

Jacke sentenced Holder to 25 years to life for the murder and 25 more for a firearm sentencing enhancement.

FILE - Eric Holder Jr. sits in the courtroom at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on Sept. 15, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Apu Gomes/Pool Photo via AP)

NIPSEY HUSSLE, GRAMMY-NOMINATED RAPPER, SHOT DEAD IN LOS ANGELES

He also sentenced Holder an additional 10 years for the assault with firearm convictions.

The judge gave Holder credit for the nearly four years he has already served.

Holder, who was dressed in orange jail attire, stared blankly throughout the proceedings and did not react when the sentence was announced. He only spoke to confirm with the judge that he understood the circumstances.

Before the sentence was handed down, prosecutors said Holder and Hussle had a brief conversation after they ran into each other on a Sunday afternoon outside the clothing store.

Holder left and returned about 10 minutes later and shot Hussle at least 10 times, they said.

Nipsey Hussle attends the 61st Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. (David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Herman "Cowboy" Douglas, a close friend of Hussle who was with him the day he was killed and testified during the trial, told the judge that both he and the South Los Angeles community where Hussle was a business leader were deeply impacted by the tremendous loss.

"Nipsey was my friend, he was like a son, he was like a dad," said Douglas. "Our community right now, we lost everything, everything we worked for. One mans mistake, one mans action, messed up a whole community."

Douglas said Hussle's store and surrounding businesses that he owned and supported have been closed down following his death.

ANOTHER CALIFORNIA SHOOTING LEAVES 3 DEAD, 4 INJURED IN RITZY LA NEIGHBORHOOD

Hussles friend also told the judge he wanted to know the motivation behind the killing: "I dont care what you give this guy. It aint about the time. I just want to know why. The world wants to know why. Why someone would do that?"

Nipsey Hussle performs onstage at the Warner Music Pre-Grammy Party at the NoMad Hotel on February 7, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Warner Music)

Public defender Aaron Jansen asked for a lesser sentence of 25 years to life that would allow some chance at release and rehabilitation, detailing his client suffered a childhood of physical abuse and poverty.

As he reached adulthood, Jansen said Holder suffered "a terrible descent into mental illness" that led to "years of torment and struggle" that included agonizing auditory hallucinations.

He also said life behind bars is "going to be brutal [and] is going to be short. Hes already received numerous death threats."

Jansen also read a letter from Holder's father, Eric Holder Sr. apologizing to Hussle's family and to the other victims.

"I know there are not enough words that would fill the void, the pain, the deep sorrow that they feel," the letter read. "I question myself every day asking if I as a father did everything to help Eric Jr. stabilize his mental health."

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Hussle and Holder had known each other for years growing up in South LA, as both were aspiring rappers. Holder never achieved the same success as Hussle, who would become a local hero and a national celebrity.

The evidence against Holder was overwhelming from eyewitnesses to surveillance cameras from local businesses that captured his arrival, the shooting and his departure that Jansen admitted during the trial that Holder had shot Hussle and asked jurors to find him guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

After deliberating for just six hours, jurors found him guilty of first-degree murder.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Nipsey Hussle's killer Eric Holder Jr. gets 60 years to life in prison ...

Eric Holder, Nipsey Hussle's killer sentenced to 60 years

Eric Holder Jr., the man convicted of murdering Grammy-winning rapper Nipsey Hussle in 2019, was sentenced Wednesday to 60 years to life in prison with credit for the 1,423 days already served.

LOS ANGELES - Eric Holder Jr., the man convicted of murdering Grammy-winning rapper Nipsey Hussle in a 2019 shooting in South Los Angeles, was sentenced Wednesday to 60 years to life in prison with credit for the 1,423 days already served.

Holder's sentencing hearing had been postponed several times since last September. In December, Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke rejected a defense motion to reduce Holder's conviction to second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter and turned down the defense's bid for a new trial.

In July, a Los Angeles County jury convicted Holder Jr. of first-degree murder in the killing of Hussle outside his clothing store in March 2019. Holder was also convicted of attempted voluntary manslaughter for injuring two bystanders in the incident, along with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Jurors also found true allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a handgun and that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on one of the victims.

A jury of nine women and three men deliberated for about six hours over two days before reaching the verdict.

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The shooting followed a conversation the two men had about rumors that Holder had been acting as an informant for authorities. Jansen argued that being publicly accused of being a "snitch" by a person as prominent as Hussle brought on a "heat of passion" in Holder that made him not guilty of first-degree murder.

Hussle, whose real name was Ermias Joseph Asghedom, and Holder had known each other for years growing up as members of the Rollin 60s in South Los Angeles when a chance meeting outside the clothing store the rapper opened in his neighborhood led to the shooting, and his death.

Deputy District Attorney John McKinney called the killing "cold-blooded" and "calculated," saying that Holder had "quite a bit of time for premeditation and deliberation" before returning to the parking lot near Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard where the rapper was shot 10 to 11 times.

A jury of nine women and three men deliberated for about six hours over two days before reaching the verdict.

After Hussle's death, thousands of people were on hand in April 2019 for a service in his honor, with singer Stevie Wonder and rapper Snoop Dogg among those paying tribute to him.

In a letter that was read during the service, former President Barack Obama wrote, "While most folks look at the Crenshaw neighborhood where he grew up and see only gangs, bullets and despair, Nipsey saw potential. He saw hope. He saw a community that, even through its flaws, taught him to always keep going."

A local and now international rap star is giving back to his community in South Los Angeles in a big way that is giving his family, fans and community hope and motivation.

RELATED: Rapper Nipsey Hussle creates positive change in South LA

Hussle had just released his major-label debut album and earned his first Grammy nomination when he was killed.

The rapper-entrepreneur was posthumously honored with two Grammy Awards in 2020 for best rap performance for "Racks in the Middle" and for best rap/sung performance for "Higher."

The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.

Original post:
Nipsey Hussle's killer sentenced to 60 years in prison

Eric Holder Jr., who was convicted of murdering rapper Nipsey Hussle outside the musicians South Los Angeles clothing store in 2019, has been sentenced to 60 years to life in state prison.

The sentence was handed down today by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke II. The 33-year-old Holder was found guilty of first-degree murder in July 2022 following a jury trial. He later was convicted on two counts each of attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm. The latter charges involved the wounding of two other people in the March 31, 2019, shooting.

Holder was arrested on April 2, 2019, and charged days later. According to reports, Holder showed no reaction during the reading of his sentence today.

Holder had admitted gunning down the Grammy-winning Hussle in front of the musicians South Los Angeles clothing store, the Marathon. Holder maintained that the killing was an impulsive act committed in the heat of passion, as his attorney Aaron Jansen argued during the trial.

Todays sentencing was handed down following a hearing in which a friend of Hussles made a statement and a letter writter by Holders father was read in court.

City News Service contributed to this report

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Nipsey Hussle Killer Eric Holder Jr. Sentenced To 60 Years To Life In ...

Bryannita Nicholson testified that she drove Eric R. Holder Jr. to the shopping plaza where Nipsey Hussle was shot. After the killing, crowds of people paid tribute at the mall. Credit...Rozette Rago for The New York Times

Bryannita Nicholson, who had been casually seeing the defendant, Eric R. Holder Jr., testified that she had driven him to and from the scene of the shooting, providing one of the prosecutions key accounts of the episode.

The day of the shooting had started unremarkably, she testified. She and Mr. Holder had met a little more than a month earlier, when she was driving part-time for Lyft and picked him up as a fare. In the weeks that followed, she said, they grew closer, and she would often drive Mr. Holder during outings in Long Beach or Los Angeles, to the beach, to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Their relationship was casual, she said.

On the day of the shooting, Ms. Nicholson testified, the pair were headed to a nearby swap meet. Ms. Nicholson was given immunity from prosecution for her testimony.

When Ms. Nicholson pulled into a shopping plaza that day so that Mr. Holder could buy chili cheese fries, she said, she spotted Nipsey Hussle standing outside his store, Marathon clothing. She remarked to Mr. Holder that she thought Hussle was handsome, and that she wanted to get a picture with him. Mr. Holder did not indicate that he knew the rapper from the neighborhood, she testified.

She approached Hussle, who was surrounded by a group of men, to get a selfie, she testified. It would be the last photograph of the rapper.

Some witnesses have testified that Hussle had warned Mr. Holder there were rumors circulating that he had cooperated with law enforcement, or snitched. Ms. Nicholson testified that she had heard Mr. Holder ask Hussle if he had snitched, but that Hussle seemed to be brushing him off. She said she returned to the car and pulled into a nearby alley so Mr. Holder could eat, she said.

Mr. Holder then pulled out a handgun, which Ms. Nicholson testified alarmed her, but she had previously said she believed he had guns for protection.

Mr. Holder then got out of the car and left his fries on the hood of a nearby truck, she said. A short time later, Ms. Nicholson said, she heard gunshots.

When Mr. Holder got back into her car, she testified, he told her to drive or he would slap her. She testified that she did not realize at that point that he might have been the shooter. That night, she testified, she agreed to let Mr. Holder stay at her mothers home with her, and she later helped him check into a motel using her identification.

It wasnt until more than a day after the killing, when her mother recognized Ms. Nicholsons white Chevy Cruze on the news, that she realized that Mr. Holder might have been involved, she testified.

I hoped he didnt have something to do with it, Ms. Nicholson told John McKinney, the prosecutor in the case, during her testimony. I was a nervous wreck at the time.

In his opening statement, Mr. McKinney had portrayed Ms. Nicholson as a kind of unwitting accomplice.

When Ms. Nicholson testifies, pay attention to her, he said. I think youll find in her a navet, a simplicity.

Mr. McKinney emphasized that Ms. Nicholson had quickly agreed to cooperate with the police. She allowed the authorities to access data from her phone and she submitted to hours of interviews.

I was thinking, Oh my god, this is my reputation, too, she testified in court.

Aaron Jansen, Mr. Holders public defender, asked Ms. Nicholson about some minor discrepancies between her earlier accounts and ones she gave on the stand: the color of a truck where Mr. Holder left his fries, whether Hussle had told Mr. Holder to, like, chill. (Ms. Nicholson responded that Hussles demeanor had been chill, and said that he had not instructed Mr. Holder to calm down.)

On the witness stand, Ms. Nicholson mostly answered questions with a calm yes, or I dont know. Mr. Holder, who wore a gray suit with a faint windowpane pattern, mostly avoided her eyes or looked at her dispassionately.

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The Nipsey Hussle Murder Trial: Eric Holder Jr. Guilty of First-Degree ...

Please join the Black Law Students Association at Columbia Law School and TheEric H. Holder Jr. Initiative for Civil and Political Rightsfor the 2023 Paul Robeson Conference opening fireside chat. This conversation will feature Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. CC73, LAW76, and Jelani Cobb, dean of Columbia Journalism School and Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism, as they discuss Attorney General Holder's new book, Our Unfinished March: The Violent Past and Imperiled Future of the Vote.

6:00 - 7:30 p.m. | Jelani Cobb in Conversation with Eric Holder on Our Unfinished March: The Violent Past and Imperiled Future of the Vote& Audience Q & A

7:30 - 8:30 p.m. | Reception (refreshmentswill be served)

Registration for this event is required.

Please Note: This event is open to CU affiliates only.

AboutOur Unfinished March

A brutal, bloody, and at times hopeful history of the vote; a primer on the opponents fighting to take it away; and a playbook for how we can save our democracy before its too latefrom the former U.S. Attorney General on the front lines of this fight

Voting is our most important right as Americansthe right that protects all the others, as Lyndon Johnson famously said when he signed the Voting Rights Actbut its also the one most violently contested throughout U.S. history. Since the gutting of the act in the landmarkShelby County v. Holdercase in 2013, many states have passed laws restricting the vote. After the 2020 election, President Trumps effort to overturn the vote has evolved into a slow-motion coup, with many Republicans launching an all-out assault on our democracy. The vote seems to be in unprecedented peril.

But the peril is not at all unprecedented. America is a fragile democracy, Eric Holder argues, whose citizens have only had unfettered access to the ballot since the 1960s. He takes readers through three dramatic stories of how the vote was won: first by white men, through violence and insurrection; then by white women, through protests and mass imprisonments; and finally by African Americans, in the face of lynchings and terrorism. Next, he dives into how the vote has been stripped away sinceShelbya case in which Holder was one of the parties. He ends with visionary chapters on how we can reverse this tide of voter suppression and become a true democracy where every voice is heard and every vote is counted.

Full of surprising history, intensive analysis, and actionable plans for the future, this is a powerful primer on our most urgent political struggle from one of the countrys leading advocates.

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2023 Paul Robeson Conference | A Conversation with Eric Holder ...