In a swift decision by a St. Louis jury, 20-year-old Davon Griffin-Curry was convicted of second-degree murder and armed criminal action, as reported by stltoday.com. The verdict arrives after a fireworks dispute led to the fatal shooting of Rickey J. Lathan, 35, in July 2022.
During the incident, which occurred on the 2500 block of Semple Avenue, a firework from Lathan's display landed near the home of Griffin-Curry's grandfather. A confrontation ensued that escalated when Davon, along with his brother Devin, emerged and opened fire. Lathan was struck ten times and succumbed to his injuries on the spot, with his two young children, including a twin who turned 13 on Monday, tragically bearing witness to the event. Both brothers had initially faced first-degree murder charges before they were amended to second-degree, "according to cnhinews.com.
The tragic incident has left Lathan's six children without a father. During the trial process, Lathan's twin sons offered their testimonies – with one participating in the guilt phase, and the other during the penalty phase. After just half an hour of deliberation, the jury rendered a guilty verdict against Davon Griffin-Curry and recommended a sentence of life in prison, as reported by Fox2Now.
Devin Griffin-Curry, who was 16 at the time of the killing and now 18, has already been sentenced to 22 years in prison after being certified to stand trial as an adult. He received his sentence in April, following a jury deliberation of two and a half hours. The prosecutions for both cases were handled by federal prosecutors Hal Goldsmith, and Jennifer Szczucinski as part of an initiative to address St. Louis's homicide case backlog. Donovan is currently housed at the state prison in Bonne Terre, the cnhinews.com further elaborated.
