Nipsey Hussle shooting suspect Eric Holder charged with murder and 2 counts of attempted murder, pleads not guilty
Update: 7:04 p.m. ET - As per recent reports, Holder has pleaded not guilty to the charges pressed against him for the murder of 33-year-old rapper, Hussle. Holder entered the plea during his first court appearance on the afternoon of Thursday, April 4, at Los Angeles, after being ordered a $5 million bail.
Earlier in the day, when the news of him being charged with Hussle's murder had come out, there was no information released about whether he was agreeing to enter a plea or not. It was also unclear if Holder had a lawyer at all. His attorney, Christopher Darden, did not dispute the bail amount.
Original story
Eric Holder, the 29-year-old man who was arrested as a suspect in the fatal shooting of rapper, Nipsey Hussle was charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder Thursday. Holder had reportedly been on the run after fleeing the scene of the shooting that happened Sunday, March 31. Holder fled the scene in a waiting car, revealed the Los Angeles Police Department, and was arrested on April 2 at Bellflower as a suspect.
Charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder, Holder is set to appear in court Thursday afternoon. He has not yet entered a plea, and it's not clear whether he has an attorney. Authorities say Holder and Hussle, who knew each other, had had several conversations Sunday outside the rapper's South L.A. clothing store. They say Holder eventually returned with a handgun and shot Hussle, who was declared dead at a hospital. If convicted, Holder faces life in prison.
After several heated arguments on Sunday, Holder opened fire on Hussle and the two other men, who survived the shooting, as per the police. So far, there has been no update on how the two men knew each other, or what spurred the dispute between them.
While both Hussle and Holder have reportedly had ties with street gangs, the conflict between the two was personal and did not involve any gang related dispute. Police had managed to single out Holder as a suspect after witnesses at the scene and in the surrounding locality offered their help.
In 2012, he pleaded no contest to possession of a loaded firearm and was sentenced to six months in jail and three years' probation. The case filed Thursday includes a charge that he was a felon in possession of a gun during the attack on Hussle.
Hussle, 33, was engaged to actress Lauren London, with whom he had a 2-year-old son. He had another daughter from a previous relationship. He was a beloved figure in the community that he was seeking to rebuild starting with his clothing store, among his fellow entertainers, and with public officials who praised his philanthropy and advocacy.
Hussle had success in hip-hop's inner circles for 10 years through his coveted mixtapes, then last year broke big with his major-label debut album, "Victory Lap," which was nominated for a Grammy. The California State Senate adjourned in his honor on Thursday.
"He was a manifestation, from my perspective, of the American dream, even the California dream," said Sen. Holly Mitchell, a Democrat from Los Angeles. "He represents a new generation of entertainer turned activist turned entrepreneur," she said, noting his activism on police brutality and gun violence.
Congresswoman Karen Bass said she planned to honor Hussle on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. "I will be heading to the House Floor next week to formally enter Nipsey Hussle's contributions to South Los Angeles into the Congressional Record where it will be a part of United States history forever," Bass tweeted.
With inputs from AP