The accused on trial for the murder of California rapper Nipsey Hussle has been assaulted in jail.
Eric Holder, 32, is on trial on one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He has pleaded not guilty to the offenses.
His trial began earlier this month, and he was scheduled to appear in court on June 28, but his defense attorney Aaron Jansen asked that the session be put off since Holder can’t attend due to a “medical” issue.
According to Rolling Stone, Eric Holder was physically assaulted in jail after leaving court on Monday afternoon. His injuries were severe enough for him to require medical treatment up to Tuesday, the report suggested.
The publication said he “suffered more than a black eye”, according to an unnamed source. At the time, there was no further disclosure on the extent of his injuries, although the attorney only described it as being medically related.
According to TMZ, police sources say that got jumped while waiting in line to catch the bus to go to court. He was apparently beaten so badly he was taken to a hospital and was required stitches at the back of his head. He also had a swollen left eye.
The court hearing was also put off on Tuesday by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke.
“Based on some unforeseen circumstances that are no fault of parties here, we won’t be in session today,” the judge told the court.
On Monday, the trial moved ahead with the prosecution and defense ironing out jury instructions ahead of closing arguments and jury deliberations which were originally scheduled to start this Wednesday.
It’s unclear if Holder’s injuries will affect the case date moving forward, as the next date for resumption is Wednesday when Holder’s defense is expected to call two witnesses. Closing arguments were expected to take place on Thursday.
Holder’s trial has been long coming as he was imprisoned since 2019 as he waited for trial, which was also affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Eric Holder is accused of shooting Nipsey Hussle multiple times with two firearms after the rapper had accused him of “snitching.”
“This is a case about the heat of passion,” Jansen said to jurors.
However, the prosecution claims that Holder’s actions were premeditated as he had time to leave and go for his guns and return to kill Nipsey Hussle, whose real name is Airmiess Asghedom. He also told the rapper, “You’re through,” after shooting him and kicking him in his head.
