It's been less than a week since 33-year-old Nipsey Hussle was murdered in Los Angeles and his alleged killer, 29-year-old Eric Holder, has pleaded not guilty to the crime. The aspiring rapper was in court earlier today as it was officially announced that he's facing one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, two counts of attempted murder for the two survivors of the shooting, and one count of murder for the death of Nipsey.
The attorney who will be representing Holder is a familiar face in high-profile court drama history. Christopher Darden became a household name in the 1990s when he worked as a prosecutor in the infamous OJ Simpson trial that was held in Los Angeles but streamed worldwide. In the courtroom today, Holder only made one brief comment as he agreed to delay his next court proceeding until May 10. He faces life in prison and his bail is set at $5 million. According to the L.A. Times, Darden was "privately retained for Holder."
Darden did his best to keep cameras out of the courtroom and away from snapping photos of his client, but that didn't work out well for him. He claimed that there was an "issue of identity," but at this point Holder's face is been distributed online so the judge didn't agree. Reporters outside of the courthouse tried getting questions answered regarding the handgun involved in the case and whether or not it has been located. However, that is still information that has not been released.
This isn't the first time Holder has been arrested. Back in 2012, he spent 180 days in jail and was placed on three years of probation following a conviction over carrying a firearm. The woman responsible for driving the getaway car has reportedly made claims that she had no idea that a shooting was going to occur when she gave Holder a ride. She has been cooperative with investigators and has not been arrested or charged, according to Josh Rubenstein, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Director of Communications.
