The man who is accused of fatally shooting Nipsey Hussle in 2019 has reportedly been assaulted while in jail.
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AsĀ Rolling Stone reports, the 32-year-old Eric Holder Jr. was unable to attend his trial regarding the case on Tuesday (June 28). This was supposedly due to injuries he sustained in custody, shortly after leaving a Los Angeles courtroom on Monday afternoon (June 27).
It’s not clear where the altercation took place, as Holder is meant to be kept separate from other inmates when being transported to and from his court appearances.
Holder’s public defender, Aaron Jansen, toldĀ Rolling Stone that he had been “attacked by two inmates and beaten” during the assault. “He was cut with a razor in the back of his head and received three staples. His face is swollen and his eye is swollen.”
Holder is accused of shooting Hussle outside his Marathon Clothing store in Los Angeles on March 31, 2019. According to prosecutors, Hussle was shot 10 times, with bullets striking him in his head and torso, and severing his spine.
Holder was indicted on one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. Holder, who has pleaded not guilty, faces life in prison if convicted.
The trial into Hussle’s murder opened earlier this month, with Holder’s defender, Jansen, arguing that while Holder shot Hussle, causing his death, the killing was not premeditated and instead happened in “the heat of passion”.
He claimed that Hussle had accused Holden of “snitching”, and that Holder became “so enflamed and enraged” as a result that he opened fire “nine minutes later”, before he had time to “cool off”.
Deputy District Attorney John McKinney, however, said that Holder exited the initial meeting showing no signs of aggression, leaving in a car, and driving around the block with Holder eating some chili cheese fries. It’s alleged he told a friend he was with to wait for him in a nearby parking lot, then returned to Marathon with a semi-automatic handgun and smaller revolver.
“You’re going to hear and see evidence that he had plenty of opportunity to think about what he was going to do before he did it,” the prosecutor told jurors. “From the time he got out of the car and all the way back to that strip mall and walked up to those gentlemen and started shooting and shooting and shooting.”
Closing arguments in the case are due to begin this Thursday (June 30).
The post Man accused of murdering Nipsey Hussle reportedly assaulted in jail appeared first on NME.
