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Chris Darden steps down as lawyer in Nipsey Hussle case

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Chris Darden, the former prosecutor best known for his work in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, has withdrawn as the defense attorney for the man charged with killing rapper Nipsey Hussle and injuring two other men in South Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa Sullivan said she granted Darden’s request to withdraw from the case and appointed the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office to represent Eric Ronald Holder Jr., 29. Darden left the downtown Los Angeles courtroom late last week before the case was called.

“As for my reasons for withdrawing, I don’t know whether I will disclose them later or not,” Darden wrote in a lengthy Facebook post. “I only know that as a lawyer it is my duty to protect the rights of my clients even in the face of threats or angry mobs. I cannot understand why in 2019 somepeople would deny a Black man his 6th Amendment right to counsel of his choice.Or why defending such a man should invite threats not only against me but against my children too … Just as they were in 1995—cowards never change. These days these cowards don’t send letters instead they sit anonymously behind keyboards threatening a man’s mother and children. And some folks think that’s funny. It isn’t and I won’t ever forget it.”

Holder, represented at his April 4 arraignment by Darden, is charged with one count each of murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, along with two counts of attempted murder.

The charges, to which Holder pleaded not guilty, include an allegation that he personally and intentionally discharged a handgun which caused great bodily injury and death to the rapper on March 31.

Holder remains jailed in lieu of $5 million bail while awaiting his next court appearance June 12, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to require him to stand trial. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.

Holder is accused of fatally shooting the 33-year-old Hussle—whose real name is Ermias Joseph Asghedom—at about 3:20 p.m. March 31 in front of The Marathon Clothing store the Entertainer owned in the 3400 block of West Slauson Avenue in Hyde Park. Two other men were wounded in the attack.

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