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Nipsey Hussle Trial Briefly Delayed After Suspect Slashed During Attack In Jail
Eric Holder's attorney said that his client was jumped by two men with him in a jail holding cell and taken to the hospital Tuesday. Holder received three staples to the back of the head and was treated for his cuts and abrasions.
The trial of the man accused of killing rapper Nipsey Hussle was briefly delayed after he was attacked with a razor in a holding cell while on his way to court.
Eric Holder Jr. was jumped from behind by two L.A. County jail inmates who had been inside the cell with him on Tuesday morning, according to his attorney Aaron Jensen.
Jensen told reporters the men punched the 33-year-old and slashed him in the back of the head with a razor, causing him to lose consciousness, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Holder was taken to the hospital, where he received three staples to the back of the head and was treated for his cuts and abrasions.
“He was taken to the hospital and received an MRI and staples in the back of his head,” Jansen told NBC News in a statement.
The motive for the attack was not immediately known.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke told jurors on Tuesday that trial was being delayed for an “unforeseen medical” incident with the defendant.
The trial resumed Wednesday with some of the final witness testimony. Holder could be seen with staples in his head and a face covering, according to The Times.
Both sides rested their cases late in the day. The jury is expected to begin deliberations at some point on Thursday.
Holder is accused of gunning down Hussle, whose given name was Ermias Asghedom, outside his South Los Angeles store, The Marathon, on March 31, 2019.
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John McKinney told the jury that Holder got angry after Hussle repeated accusations that Holder was talking to law enforcement authorities.
Holder allegedly returned to the store shortly after the conversation and opened fire, striking the Grammy-winning artist 11 times. Two others were injured in the hail of bullets.
Hussle and Holder had both been members of the Rolling 60s set of the Crips.
Holder fled the scene and was arrested after a 48-hour manhunt, according to KTLA. He is facing charges of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
His attorney has not disputed that Holder was killed Hussle but argued in court that it should be considered manslaughter because he had been “triggered” and was acting in a “heated passion.”
He also argued that there had been no premeditation and Holder had not meant to strike the two other victims in the case.
If convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder, he would receive an automatic life sentence, according to the local paper.
