Opening arguments in the Nipsey Hussle murder trial are set to begin Wednesday, more than three years after the rapper was murdered outside his Los Angeles clothing store.
via: Vibe
ABC 7 Los Angeles reports a 12-person jury has been selected to deliberate on if Holder, 32, is guilty on one count each of murder and possession of a firearm by a felon and two counts each of attempted murder and assault with a firearm. The jury was officially sworn in on Monday (June 13).
According to the news outlet, the judge has requested that six alternate jurors be preselected in the event of original jurors needing to be replaced. The six additional people were confirmed on Tuesday and opening statements are slated to begin Wednesday.
The three-year journey to justice embarked on by Hussle’s family included multiple hindrances. The trial was originally scheduled to begin in April 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Holder’s refusal to leave his cell, the assigned judge’s retirement, and the recusal of Holder’s attorney, Christopher Darden, amid death threats to his family.
In 2019, District Attorney John McKinney argued to the grand jury that Holder used two firearms on March 31, 2019, to fatally shoot the rapper after a conversation that included allegations of “snitching” outside of the rapper’s clothing store in the Hyde Park area of Los Angeles. Deputy Medical Examiner Lawrence Nguyen described how Hussle, born Ermias Joseph Asghedom, was shot 11 times, with two wounds being caused by one bullet.
Holder has remained behind bars since his arrest shortly after the shooting incident.
