Today, Davon R. Griffin-Curry, aged 20, received a life sentence plus five years for his involvement in the murder of Rickey J. Lathan, which took place on July 12, 2022, according to a source from the St. Louis City Circuit Court. Griffin-Curry’s brother, 19-year-old Devin Griffin-Curry, had previously been sentenced in July to 22 years in prison for his role in the fatal incident that arose from a dispute over fireworks. The brothers, living on the 2500 block of Semple Avenue with their grandfather, confronted Lathan as he was enjoying a celebratory moment with his young children outside their home.
Rickey J. Lathan, a 35-year-old father of six, was fatally shot in the presence of his two kids, a 5-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son, as they set off fireworks outside their residence. After a firecracker detonated across the street near where the Griffin-Curry brothers lived, a brief argument ensued, leading to Lathan being shot. According to authorities, the gruesome scene, perpetrated by someone who managed various Panera Bread Co. locations, was caught on doorbell surveillance as the brothers retreated to their home with firearms in hand.
A St. Louis jury convicted Davon Griffin-Curry last month, recommending a life term for second-degree murder and an additional five-year term for armed criminal action. Circuit Judge Timothy Boyer, upholding the jury’s recommendation, mandated the sentences to run consecutively as Missouri law dictates, effectively defining a life term as 30 years of incarceration. “There was no better word to describe Lathan s murder than ‘heinous;'” a prosecutor noted, as cited by theSt. Louis City Circuit Court, stressing the heinousness of the crime against an innocent man witnessed by his own children.
During the sentencing, the prosecutor also underscored the tremendous loss felt by Lathan’s family, describing him as a loving and giving individual and a protector of his family. In contrast, pleading for clemency, Davon-Griffin’s attorney requested a sentence that would allow him to use his time to rehabilitate and better himself in prison. Despite the gravity of the trial’s outcome, Davon-Griffin maintained his innocence, reportedly telling the judge, “I feel like me and my co-defendant are innocent,” as mentioned on theSt. Louis City Circuit Courtwebsite.
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