The jury has reached a verdict in the trial of Eric R. Holder Jr., who was charged with murder in the 2019 shooting of Los Angeles-based rapper Nipsey Hussle, according to court officials.
The jury, which sits on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, is expected to return to the courtroom at 1:30 p.m. Eastern to announce the verdict.
The decision came after the jury met for less than an hour on Wednesday, the second day of deliberations. The panel had started Friday but had just returned from a four-day weekend to resume discussions on the ninth floor of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, across from Los Angeles City Hall.
During the murder trial, which lasted a little over two weeks, witnesses described a murder that reverberated far beyond the world of West Coast hip-hop, sparking an outpouring of grief across the country.
Hussle, whose real name was Ermias Asghedom, was shot and killed on March 31, 2019 at the age of 33 outside a clothing store he owned in South Los Angeles. Two bystanders were injured in the attack. Two days after the shooting, Mr. Holder, who was 29 at the time, registered himself at a psychiatric clinic, his lawyer said at the trial. Mr Holder was subsequently charged with first degree murder, attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. He pleaded not guilty and has been held in lieu of $6.5 million bail.
During the trial, Los Angeles County prosecutors argued that Mr. Holder and Hussle, two longtime acquaintances who belonged to the same street gang, had a chance meeting in the parking lot of the strip mall, with the rapper citing neighborhood rumors that Mr. Holder was working together. with law enforcement – which is considered a serious crime in the gang world. Minutes later, prosecutors and witnesses said Mr Holder returned with two handguns and began firing repeatedly.
Aaron Jansen, a public defender representing Mr Holder, admitted at trial that his client had pulled the trigger. But the lawyer has argued that the crime took place in the “heat of passion” and was not premeditated, as prosecutors have accused.