Eric Holder Jr. was sentenced to 60 years for the murder of Nipsey Hussle in 2019 in Los Angeles.

Eric Holder Jr. was sentenced to 60 years for the murder of Nipsey Hussle in 2019 in Los Angeles.

Nipsey Hussle's killer sentenced to 60 years to life in prison

The man convicted of killing rapper Nipsey Hussle was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison Wednesday in Los Angeles. Eric Holder Jr., 33, was found guilty of first-degree murder in July for shooting Hussle outside his clothing store in South Los Angeles in March 2019. Hussle, whose legal name was Ermias Joseph Asghedom, died at 33.

Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke II handed down the sentence after hearing from one of Hussle's friends and Holder's father.

"Nipsey was my friend. He was like a son. He was like a dad," said Herman Douglas, who was with Hussle the day he was gunned down, according to the Associated Press. "Our community right now, we lost everything, everything we worked for. One man's mistake, one man's action, messed up a whole community."

two other men at the scene. He was arrested after a two-day manhunt.

Prosecutors argued during the trial in June that the attack was premeditated, stemming from a prior dispute between Holder and Hussle. L.A. County Deputy District Attorney John McKinney said there was "no doubt" Holder planned to kill Hussle, stating that Holder shot him at least 10 times and kicked him in the head before fleeing.

Holder's public defender, Aaron Jansen, maintained that the attack was not premeditated and called it a case of "heated passion." He had tried to reduce Holder's conviction to manslaughter or second-degree murder, but Jacke rejected the motion last year.

Jansen didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Hussle was a rising star at the time of his death, having broken through with his 2013 mixtape Crenshaw, guest-starred as a rapper on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and collaborated with Jay Z on a song for Judas and the Black Messiah. His only studio album, Victory Lap, earned a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammys, and the 2020 Grammys ceremony featured a star-studded tribute to him.