LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles man pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges that he killed Grammy-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle and was ordered held on $5 million bail.
Holder was represented in the high-profile case by Chris Darden who, as a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney in the 1990s, unsuccessfully prosecuted former football star OJ Simpson for murder. Hussle, whose real name was Ermias Asghedom, was shot multiple times on 31 March outside his Marathon Clothing store in south Los Angeles. Two other people were wounded by gunfire.Holder was taken into custody on Tuesday in the Los Angeles suburb of Bellflower after a caller reported seeing the man police had named as a suspect. Investigators say the slaying was motivated by a personal dispute between the two men.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday that Holder was an aspiring rapper and suspected gang member who went by the nickname “Fly Mac”. He has a previous conviction for carrying a loaded firearm, the paper said.