The gang member who shot the rapper American Nipsey Hussle in Los Angeles in 2019 was sentenced this Wednesday to at least 60 years in prison.
Eric Holder, 32, admitted during the trial that he killed Nipsey Hussle, rising star of American rap, although he defended that he acted “under the influence of passion”, without having planned the death.
This version was not matched by the jury that, in July, declared the American guilty of murder and, therefore, considered that he acted premeditatedly.
The judge handling the case on Wednesday sentenced Holder to a minimum sentence of 25 years for murder, with an additional 25 years for using a firearm and an additional 10 years for shooting and wounding two other men nearby.
The death of Nipsey Hussle, in March 2019, at the age of 33, deeply moved the United States.
After the tragedy, many stars, including Stevie Wonder and Snoop Dogg, paid tribute to the rapper. Tens of thousands of people attended his memorial service in Los Angeles, where a message from former US President Barack Obama was read.
Despite opening his clothing store in the South Los Angeles neighborhood where he spent his childhood, Nipsey Hussle remained connected to the gang world where he grew up.
His murderer, Eric Holder, was a member of the “Rollin 60s Crips”, an organization to which the rapper also belonged.
Before dying, the artist fell out with Holder.
During the trial, the prosecutor argued that the killer had “all the time to premeditate” his gesture.
Nipsey Hussle, of Eritrean descent, was posthumously honored with two Grammy Awards in 2020, for the themes Racks in the middle It is Higher (by DJ Khaled).
In August, he was also awarded a posthumous star on Hollywood Boulevard.