Nipsey Hussle was allegedly executed in a hail of bullets that severed his spine.
A Los Angeles court was also told at the start of the rapper’s murder hearing the gun attack punctured his lungs three times and pierced his liver.
Deputy District Attorney John McKinney revealed the graphic details to a jury of nine women and three men in his opening statement at the trial of aspiring 32-year-old rapper Eric Holder – accused of using two guns to shoot Hussle, 33, at least 10 times in March 2019.
The deputy DA said on Wednesday (16.06.22): “It was a devastating attack... a very personal attack.”
Branding the musician’s killing “premeditated and deliberate” murder, McKinney added Hussle was “shot from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head”.
He said the attack was launched after the rapper accusing fellow gang-member Holder of being a “snitch”.
Just before firing, he added Holder told Hussle: “You’re through,” and when the first shot hit him, the Grammy-winning rapper is said to have shouted: “You got me.”
Holder grew up in a tough area of south Los Angeles where he and Hussle were recruited by the Rollin’ 60s gang, also known as the Neighbourhood Crips.
He is charged with one count of murder, two of attempted murder, two of assault with a firearm and one of possession of a firearm by a felon, and has pleaded not guilty.
His attempted murder and assault with a firearm charges stem from Holder also allegedly shooting friends of Hussle, 56 year-old Kerry Latham and Sharmi Villnueva, 44, during the fatal attack on the rapper.
At a criminal court in downtown LA, heavily tattooed Holder sat beside his defence team in a dark suit, open white shirt and white trainers.
Hussle – whose name was often stylised as Nipsey Hu$$le – rose to fame in 2005 with the success of mixtapes that caught the eyes of Jay-Z, Rihanna, Drake and a string of artists who paid tribute to the rapper, who gained two Grammys after his death.
The dad-of-two – real name Ermias Asghedom – is survived by daughter Emani, 13 and son Kross, five, from his relationships with Tanisha Foster, 35, and 37-year-old Lauren London, respectively.
Holder is said to have been known in the neighbourhood by his nickname ‘S***** Cuz’.
In his opening statement, Holder’s defense attorney Aaron Jansen admitted his client shot Hussle, telling the jury and Judge H Clay Jacke: “Eric Holder shot and killed Nipsey Hussle.”
But he said it was a crime committed “in the heat of passion.”
