A woman who drove the getaway car after rapper Nipsey Hussle's killing was sent away when she tried to turn herself in during the manhunt for the shooter
Los Angeles police have opened a probe into why the woman who drove the getaway car in the aftermath of rapper Nipsey Hussle's killing was sent home when she tried to turn herself in during the manhunt for the shooter.
The LAPD told the Associated Press Monday that the Internal Affairs Group is investigating a desk officer’s response at the 77th Street station, which was to tell the woman not to worry.
Hussle, 33, real name Ermias Asghedom, was fatally shot on March 31 in South Los Angeles outside his Marathon Clothing store.
Grand jury testimony shows the woman who drove the suspect, Eric R. Holder, away from the shooting went to the station because she saw her car and license plate on the news.
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The LAPD have opened a probe into why the woman who drove the getaway car in the aftermath of rapper Nipsey Hussle's (pictured) killing was sent home when she tried to turn herself in during the manhunt for the shooter
Eric Holder is charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder in connection with the attack outside Hussle's The Marathon clothing store
'Oh my God,' the unnamed woman testified that she told her mother.
'My car is on here and everything, and I didn’t do anything. I didn’t know this boy was gonna do this.'
Her mother called the police but was told officers wouldn’t be available until 6am the next day, grand jury transcripts, made public on June 27, show.
When the woman arrived at the station the next morning, the front desk officer reportedly said 'don’t worry about it' and 'don’t listen to the news'.
'That is true according to the desk officer that I spoke to about it,' LAPD Detective Cedric Washington said regarding the allegation that the woman had been turned away.
'He apparently missed a briefing in the chief’s press conference that day, I guess,' Deputy District Attorney John McKinney said.
Josh Rubenstein, an LAPD spokesman, told AP on Monday in an email that the internal investigation began a few days ago.
'While the initial indications pointed to a miscommunication, we have initiated an administrative investigation to ensure all policies and procedures were followed,' Rubenstein wrote.
'We will review all statements that have already been given, interview all of the individuals involved, and look for any potential body cam video that may have captured the interchange,' he added.
Rubenstein told the Los Angeles Times last week the officer believed the woman was reporting that someone was just recording video of her car on television.
'She was not making herself clear of what she was doing,' Rubenstein said.
A grand jury returned an indictment charging Holder, 29, with murder, attempted murder and other felonies on May 9.
He has pleaded not guilty.
The woman, a friend of Holder whose name and employers were not included in the transcripts, is a home health care worker by day who drives either for a ride-hailing or taxi service by night.
She met Holder about a month earlier when she picked him up as a fare.
Eric Holder, left, has been charged with murdering rapper Nipsey Hussle and attempting to murder two of his associates
The woman testified that she had been excited to see Hussle when they first arrived at the shopping plaza and took a photo with him, having no idea of Holder's intentions beyond getting food.
'I was like, ''ooh, there goes Nipsey Hussle, he look fine. I want to take a picture''.'
She said she waited while Holder talked to Hussle before taking a picture with the rapper, who was very friendly.
She also testified she heard the men talk about 'snitching,' though she thought it was Holder warning Hussle on the topic.
Holder then bought chili-cheese fries from a burger place in the plaza before the two pulled out and into a gas station as Holder began loading a gun. He got out of the car and told her to wait, she said.
She testified that she then heard two gunshots and Holder returned to the car soon after.
The woman testified: 'I asked him, ''what's going on? What's going on?'' He's like, ''Drive, drive, before I slap you.'''
The woman said she drove away without knowing who had been shot or that Holder had been the shooter.
She testified that upon learning that Hussle had died later that night, 'My heart had dropped.'
Holder called her that night and asked her to pick him up, which she did. She brought him to her mother's house to spend the night, but testified that she didn't bring up Hussle's killing because 'I didn't want him to try to threaten me again or say anything to me about it.'
She said the following day, Holder told her he didn't want to go home because it was 'dirty' and she helped him get a room at a Motel 6.
The woman, who received immunity for her testimony, later turned herself in and had a five-hour interview with detectives. She said she called Holder while the detectives were listening, but the transcripts do not reveal what was said.
Witnesses heard Holder and Hussle, both of whom have ties to the Rollin’ 60s street gang, discussing 'snitching' minutes before Hussle was shot, according to the transcripts.
Hussle's friend Herman Douglas testified about a conversation he overheard between the rapper and Holder.
'You need to address it,' Douglas remembers Hussle saying in a conversation outside The Marathon, the rapper's clothing store where he was shot six minutes later.
Prosecutors believe that the comments may have been the motive behind the rapper's killing
Holder was arrested two days later about 20 miles from the crime scene.
The grand jury listened to three days of testimony before it returned an indictment charging Holder on May 9 with the murder, attempted murder, and other felonies.
Blood stained bandages were spotted on the ground outside the rapper's Marathon Store following the fatal shooting on March 31
The documents were ordered unsealed by Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry after a hearing Thursday where Kelli Sager, an attorney for the Los Angeles Times, argued that there was no legal rationale for keeping them secret.
The defense moved to keep them under seal, arguing that their publication could keep Holder from getting a fair trial.
Hussle was an underground rap star for a decade before his major break last year, which earned him a Grammy nomination.
In April, it was reported that Hussle's killer was walking away after opening fire when he heard the rapper's final words: 'You shot me, you got me, I'm good.'
Witnesses say that the gunman immediately turned around and came back to finish Hussle off, fatally shooting him.
He then kicked the 33-year-old, as he lay dying outside his South LA clothing store, before finally fleeing the scene.
Hussle was honored during a public memorial attended by thousands of people at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on April 11, as well as during a tribute at the BET Awards on June 23.
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