Who Is Kerry Lathan?
Kerry Lathan was injured in the shooting that killed rapper Nipsey Hussle. Now he's under arrest.
Instagram In the latest chapter of the tragedy surrounding the murder of Nipsey Hussle, one of the other victims in the shooting has been arrested. Kerry Lathan was arrested for violating the terms of his parole by associating with a known gang member. The gang member in question is Nipsey Hussle himself. Hussle was a member of the Rollin 60's Crips and police consider that a violation of Lathan’s parole. Lathan was shot in the back at the same location Hussle was killed. He was treated and released. Lathan returned to the halfway house where he is living. He is currently confined to a wheelchair as a result of his injuries. Who is Kerry Lathan and why is he back in jail? Read on for all the details.
1. Nipsey Hussle
Hussle, whose given name is Ermias Asghedom, grew up in Los Angeles. He was the son of an American mother and a father from Eritrea in eastern Africa. As a teen, he joined the Rollin 60s, a gang associated with the notorious Crips. In a 2018 interview, he described living in South Los Angeles, a neighborhood with a heavy gang presence: “We dealt with death, with murder. It was like living in a war zone, where people die on these blocks and everybody is a little bit immune to it.” He eventually left the gang and focused on his music career.
Nispey Hussle on Instagram.
2. Hip-hop
Hussle dropped his first mix-tape, Slauson Boy Volume 1, in 2005. That was followed by with Bullets Ain't Got No Name, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 in 2008. He released his first single, "Hussle in the House” in 2009. His other albums include The Marathon, The Marathon Continues, Crenshaw, Mailbox Money, and his debut studio album Victory Lap. Victory Lap was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019.
The rapper on the Grammy red carpet.
3. Community service
Once Hussle started to make money, he became committed to revitalizing the neighborhood where he grew up. He bought a lot of commercial properties and opened businesses to take control of the area away from gangs and landlords who didn’t treat residents well. He made it a mission to hire local residents, particularly those who were recently out of prison and might not have been able to easily find work elsewhere. He donated money to local schools and other community services. When he died, L.A. City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson released a statement, saying “Hussle had a vision of a neighborhood built for and by the sons and daughters of South L.A. During his life, he moved from shadows into the bright hope of freedom and community revitalization.”
Many of his investments were in his neighborhood.
4. Kerry Lathan
On the day he died, Hussle was at a stored he owned called Marathon. He was there to pick up clothing for Lathan who had just been released from prison. Hussle had allegedly inited Lathan to meet him at the store to give him clothes before Lathan went to meet up friends and family.
Hussle was trying to help Lathan.
5. Shooting
While Lathan and Hussle were at the store, Eric Holder (not the former attorney general) had an altercation during wch Hussle asked him if he had been a police informant at one time. Angered by the accusation, Holder left the scene and came back with a gun, shot and killed Hussle and injured two others. He was eventually apprehended and arrested by the LAPD. He is charged with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.
6. Lathan’s arrest
On April 12, TMZ reported that Lathan had been arrested by the LAPD. Allegedly, he violated his parole by associating with a known gang member, specifically Hussle. The 56-year-old man was arrested at the halfway house where he is currently living. He is confined to a wheelchair due to injuries he sustained in the shooting. Local civil rights activists are asking that Lathan be released. “That’s a slap in the face to his family and our grieving community," Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic Hope told local news stations. "Nipsey Hussle was a hero, a role model, a justification fighter, a successful business person and entrepreneur who gave everything he could to help people in this community. That help included trying to help his friend Lathan. We can't continue to have this cycle of criminal justice system that penalizes people who need help."
There is no update on whether or not Lathan will be released.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.