Holder, who knew Hussle, had approached him over allegations he had called him a snitch, according to prosecutors.
“We told you that Mr. Holder Jr. did shoot Mr. Asghedom,” said defense attorney Aaron Jansen during closing arguments last week, asking jurors to consider lesser charges. “We told you it was voluntary manslaughter and that he acted in a heat of passion. And we told you what that heat of passion that he acted on consisted of — it consisted of being called publicly a snitch by someone as famous as Nipsey Hussle and we believe that is what the evidence showed.”
But prosecutor John McKinney argued Holder was not consumed by rage that day.
“We have a step by step methodically carried out plan to return to that parking lot and kill. It’s not done in the heat of passion, in fact, it’s done 10 minutes after the conversation, in fact it’s done after he shakes Nipsey Hussle’s hand,” he said.
After the verdict, Herman “Cowboy” Douglas, a friend of Hussle, said the late artist never called Holder a snitch and still wanted answers on why his friend was shot.
“It was so senseless, why?” he asked, rhetorically.
Douglas said the conversation between Hussle and Holder “never got heated” that fateful day.
“I’m just sad, I miss my friend. He’s supposed to be here, he’s supposed to still be here. He was the underdog that made it,” said Douglas, who testified during the trial.
“I don’t wish death on people,” he said of Holder. “Give us some closure, let us know why.”
Hussle collaborated with dozens of artists during his career, including Kendrick Lamar, Drake, YG, Ty Dolla Sign, Meek Mill and Young Thug.
Holder is scheduled to be sentenced in September. CNN has reached out to his attorney for comment.
