Defendant Eric R. Bryanita Nicholson, who was casually watching Holder Jr., testified that she escorted him to and from the scene of the shooting.
She testified that the day of the shooting began unmentionably. She and Mr. Holder also met a month ago, and she drove him part-time for Lyft and picked him up for a fee. In the weeks that followed, she said, they became close and often drove Mr. Holder to Long Beach or Los Angeles, the beach, to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Their relationship was casual, she said.
On the day of the shooting, Ms. Nicholson testified, the pair went to a nearby swap meet. Ms Nicholson was granted immunity from prosecution for her testimony.
Ms. Holder can buy chili cheese fries. When Nicholson entered a shopping plaza that day, he said, he saw Nipsey Hussley standing outside his store in a marathon outfit. He told Mr. Huss that he was beautiful and wanted to take a picture with him. said Holder. Mr. Holder did not mention that she knew the nearby rapper, she testified.
He approached Huss, surrounded by a group of men, to take a selfie, she testified. This will be the last photo of the rapper.
Mr. Some witnesses have testified that Hassell warned Holder that he was cooperating with law enforcement or that rumors spread. Mrs. Nicholson testified that Mr. Holder said he asked Hussle if he had wiped, but Hussle said it looked like he was brushing her off. She said she returned to her car and pulled into a nearby alley so Mr. Holder could eat.
Mr. Holder then pulled out a handgun, which Ms. Nicholson testified, but she had previously said she kept guns for protection.
Mr. Holder then got out of the car and left his fries on the hood of a nearby truck, he said. A short time later, Ms. Nicholson said, she heard gunshots.
Mr. When Holder got back into his car, she testified, he told her to drive or he would slap her. She testified that she did not realize at the time that he might have fired. That night, he testified, Mr. He agreed to let Holder stay with him at his mother’s house, and he later used his identity to help him check into a motel.
She testified that she realized that Mr. Holder might also be involved when her mother recognized Ms. Nicholson’s white Chevy Cruze on the news more than a day after the murder.
“I hoped he had nothing to do with it,” said Mrs. Nicholson told the case’s attorney, John McKinney, during his testimony. “I was a nervous wreck at the time.”
In his opening statement, Mr. McKinney portrayed Mrs. Nicholson as an unwitting accomplice.
“When Ms. Nicholson testifies, pay attention to her,” he said. “I think you’ll find an innocence, a simplicity in her.”
McKinney, Ms. Nicholson insisted he quickly agreed to cooperate with police. He allowed authorities to access data from his phone and he submitted to several hours of interviews.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is my reputation,'” he testified in court.
Aaron Johnson, Mr. Holder’s public defender asked Ms. Nicholson about some minor discrepancies between her previous accounts and the accounts she gave on the stand: Mr. The color of the truck where Holder left his fries, Hassel told Mr. Holder “needs to cool.” (Ms. Nicholson responded that Hussil’s behavior was “cold,” and said she did not instruct Mr. Holder to keep quiet.)
On the witness stand, Ms. Nicholson often answered questions with a relaxed “yes” or “I don’t know.” Dressed in a gray suit with a dim window pattern, Mr. Holder, for the most part, avoided her eyes or looked at her impassive.
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