Nipsey Hussle: Eric R Holder found guilty of murdering rapper

Grammy-winning Los Angeles rapper was shot 10 times in 2019

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  A street mural of Hussle in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles, California. AP

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  Another Hussle mural near his closed The Marathon Clothing shop in Los Angeles, California. AP

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  A mural of Hussle in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles, California. AP

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  A car blurs past a street mural of Hussle. AP

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  Hussle was shot to death on March 31, 2019. AP

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  Rapper Nipsey Hussle was only 33 when he was shot to death. AP

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  Hussle's real name was Airimess Joseph Asghedom. AP

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  Candles and portraits of Hussle placed where he was shot in Los Angeles, California, in April 2019. EPA

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  Hussle at an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks in Oakland, California, in 2018. AP

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  An advertisement for Hussle's new fashion between two white fibreglass elephants covered in scaffolding. AP

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  US basketball player Brandon Ashley of South East Melbourne Phoenix shows his tattoo of Hussle during the Australian National Basketball League match against Cairns Taipans in Gippsland in Victoria, Australia. Getty

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  Eric Holder, before being convicted of the first-degree murder of Hussle, in the Los Angeles Superior Court in California on Wednesday. AFP

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  Jurors found Holder, 32, guilty of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Hussle. AFP

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  Holder's public defender, Aaron Jansen, awaits the verdict at the Los Angeles Superior Court in California. Reuters

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  Holder and Mr Jansen listen to the verdict. AP

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  Judge H Clay Jacke listens as Mr Jansen speaks to the jury during closing arguments on June 30. AP

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  Deputy district attorney John McKinney speaks to the jury during closing arguments in the People v Eric Holder. AP

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  Holder in the Los Angeles County Superior Court on April 4, 2019. AP

A California man was found guilty on Wednesday of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Grammy-winning Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle in 2019.

A 12-person jury in Los Angeles County convicted Eric Ronald Holder Jr of killing Hussle outside a clothing shop the rapper owned in south Los Angeles.

Prosecutors said Holder shot Hussle at least 10 times when the pair had a chance meeting on a Sunday afternoon in the neighbourhood in which they both grew up.

After a brief conversation, Holder left and returned about 10 minutes later and opened fire, killing Hussle and wounding two bystanders.

Public defender Aaron Jansen acknowledged that Holder killed the rapper but said he should not be convicted of first-degree murder because the attack was not premeditated.

Mr Jansen told jurors that Holder acted in “the heat of passion” after Hussle told him there were rumours of him “snitching” to police, which he considered a serious offence.

Holder did not testify during the trial.

Hussle, who was 33 when he died, publicly acknowledged that he joined a gang as a teenager.

He later became an activist and entrepreneur as he found success with rap music and collaborated with artists including Snoop Dogg and Drake.

In 2020, Hussle won two posthumous Grammy Awards including one for best rap performance for Racks in the Middle, released a few weeks before his death and featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy.

The jury also convicted Holder of two counts each of attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm for wounding bystanders when he shot at Hussle.

He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing was set for September 15.