fbpx

10 Things We Know About Nipsey Hussle’s Alleged Killer Eric Holder

10 Things We Know About Nipsey Hussle’s Alleged Killer Eric Holder

5 of 11

Eric Holder
Eric Holder, the suspect in the killing of rapper Nipsey Hussle is seen with his attorney, Christopher Darden, front, in Los Angeles County Superior court Thursday, April 4, 2019. Hussle pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder and attempted murder charges. Holder was ordered held in lieu of $5 million bail. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, Pool)

Eric Holder, also known as Shitty Cuz and Fly Mac, was arrested Tuesday in connection with the March 31 shooting death of visionary entrepreneur, activist and hip-hop artist Nipsey Hussle.

Hussle was shot on Sunday, at age 33, outside the Marathon Clothing store at the strip mall he was redeveloping in Crenshaw, the neighborhood where he was born in South Los Angeles. It’s the same strip mall where he once sold his unsigned mixtapes from the trunk of his car.

Here are 10 things we know about Holder.

He could spend the rest of his life in prison

Holder has been charged with the murder of Hussle. Arraignment was scheduled for Thursday. He faces two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. The maximum sentence is life in prison.

He is a gang member

Holder was a gang member of the Rollin’ 60s Crips, gang name — Shitty Cuz. Hussle said in a 2014 interview with the YouTube channel Vlad TV that he too had joined the Rollin’ 60s as a teenager, Los Angeles Times reported. Police do not believe the shooting was related to gang rivalries.

On Instagram, Shitty Cuz’s handle is ‘ima_god_in_da_streetz’

Holder had four Facebook pages under the name Fly Mac. The most recent was set up at 3:28 a.m. just two days before the shooting, according to Daily Beast: Holder presented himself “as if he were hip-hop royalty: baseball cap, sunglasses, arms crossed, forearm tats on display, face regally impassive. ‘Boss King… cool young king,’ he proclaimed himself on Instagram. But the half-dozen music videos he posted on YouTube are unengaging and his handful of offerings on SoundCloud are at most mediocre.”


Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 51: Bärí A. Williams
Part 2. Jamarlin talks to tech attorney and diversity strategist Bärí Williams about the growing gap in big tech regulations between the U.S. and E.U., and why Democrats have been slow in bangin’ against Silicon Valley greed compared to Wall Street greed in 2008. They also discuss reparations and artificial intelligence being weaponized against Black people.

Holder was a wanna-be rapper

In 2018, UndergroundHipHopBlog described Holder as “up-and-coming West-Coast underground hip hop artist Fly Mac.” He has 189 followers on SoundCloud, had been uploading tracks since 2015, and had uploaded nine tracks in total including a song called “Bounce.”

Holder talked to Hussle multiple times on the day Hussle was shot

Los Angeles Police Department police chief Michel Moore said in a press conference, “Nipsey with two other males were standing in front of his store. Mr. Holder walked up on multiple occasions and engaged in a conversation with Nipsey and the others that were there. He left and then came back and subsequently came back armed with a handgun and purposely and repeatedly fired.”

Holder is being held on $5 million bail

Holder, 29, was represented Thursday in a Los Angeles courtroom by attorney Chris Darden, a law professor and defense attorney who famously prosecuted OJ Simpson in his murder trial and made him try on the gloves. Darden entered a not guilty plea for Holder. Bail was set at $5 million.

Two other men were shot

Holder is also accused of shooting and injuring two other men, Kerry Lathan and Shermi Villanueva, according to the criminal complaint. Hussle had a bodyguard who was not with him at the time of the shooting, CBS News reported. J Roc described himself on Instagram as Hussle’s “shadow” and shared an emotional farewell social media post.

“I’m here in tears writing this I wish I was there,” J Roc wrote, describing Hussle as a brother, best friend and mentor. “I would switch places with you any day the world need you here.”

Holder brought his gun to a place where few people were likely to be armed

Before he died in South L.A., Hussle was trying to buy back his neighborhood, LA Times reported. The strip mall he was rebuilding was a business model for the future of his ’hood and his second home. Hussle hired mostly felons at his clothing store. Felons often struggle to find work with a criminal record. Felons also cannot carry guns.

Because of that, the man was able to shoot my brother, start running, realize nobody out there had a gun, stop, turn back around, walk up, shoot my brother two more times, start to run, realize nobody had a gun, nobody was responding, ran back up and shot my brother three more times, shoot him in the head and kicked him in the head and then ran off,” said Hussle’s brother, Samiel Asghedom.

The killing was recorded on video

The killing was recorded by a surveillance video, which shows Holder and Hussle talking. Hussle called Holder a snitch, according to an uncorroborated report. The video shows a gunman fleeing after shooting Hussle and two other men outside the clothing store. Hussle collapsed but was still moving and the gunman can be seen returning and shooting him twice more. The gunman then appears to kick Hussle in the head before taking off.

Identity of the shooter will be an issue in Holder’s defense

Holder defense attorney Darden argued against a request by media outlets to record the hearing, but the judge allowed it, New York Daily News reported. “Identity is an issue. To allow media to publish images of my client in jail clothing could (affect) his right to a fair trial,” Darden said.

Deputy District Attorney John McKinney disagreed. “Mr. Holder’s image has already been widely distributed throughout the media,” McKinney said. “Identity won’t ultimately be an issue in this case…based on the evidence that we have.”