Man Receives Life Sentence Plus Five Years for Fatal Shooting of Neighbor in Wells-Goodfellow, St. Louis

Davon Griffin-Curry was sentenced on Monday to life in prison and five more years to serve concurrently for the July 2022 shooting death of his neighbor, Rickey Jemore Lathan. That evening, the community’s tenuous fabric was torn apart by the violence that broke out in the Wells-Goodfellow area on Semple Avenue.

The incident started as a straightforward Fourth of July celebration gone wrong, according to details provided by the Circuit Attorney’s Officer. Lathan was igniting fireworks with his little son and daughter when an errant bottle rocket unintentionally led to a fatal altercation. According to reports, the firework hit Griffin-Curry’s grandparents’ home, sparking a furious debate that swiftly went well beyond a friendly disagreement.

Davon Griffin-Curry and his younger brother Devin Griffin-Curry came out of their grandparents’ house with 9 mm firearms in the middle of the fight. Rickey Jemore Lathan was shot ten times and died as a result of the subsequent events. His untimely death happened in front of his kids, which made the already horrific scenario even more traumatizing.

Previously convicted of second-degree murder and armed criminal action, Devin Griffin-Curry was just 16 at the time of the killing and was later tried as an adult. He has been sentenced to 22 years in prison. In order to obtain convictions, both cases were vigorously prosecuted, demonstrating the community’s intolerance for such heinous acts of violence. The legal action against the Griffin-Curry brothers was spearheaded by Special Assistant Circuit Attorneys Hal Goldsmith and Jennifer Szczucinski, who are also Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Office of U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming.

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