Kerry Lathan, one of the victims in the shooting that took Nipsey Hussle’s life, has shared his side of the story in a new interview with VladTV. Eugene “Big U” Henley, a Rollin’ 60s Crip who managed Nipsey at one time, set up the call and also joined in on the conversation.
Lathan, who is currently in jail for associating with Nipsey, told DJ Vlad that he was convicted of murder in 1994 and sentenced to 25 to life. After serving more than 24 years in prison, he got out in 2018.
While talking to Vlad, Lathan contradicted some of the stories about his connection to Nipsey. He said he didn’t know the slain rapper well and only became aware of Nipsey due to the late artist’s celebrity status.
“He might’ve gave me a couple pictures … When I got out, I took a selfie with him,” Lathan said. “He’s a celebrity. Everybody’s taking selfies, let me take one. That’s on my phone in front of The Marathon Store.”
AD LOADING...
He later noted, “Nipsey heard that I was home and filled up my little sister’s backseat of her car with clothing for me … I was out seven months before this happened.”
A little over five minutes into the interview, Lathan detailed his perspective of the March 31 shooting. According to him, Nipsey didn’t go to the store to help him as previously reported.
Lathan’s nephew Shermi Villanueva, who was also shot but avoided serious injury since the bullet hit his belt buckle, told his uncle to stop by The Marathon Store to get a new shirt before meeting a friend whose father had died. Lathan went and was unable to get what he wanted, so he tracked down Nipsey in the parking lot.
AD LOADING...
“When I go in there, they didn’t have the white [shirts] that I wanted,” he explained. “I said, ‘When y’all gon’ get that in again?’ He said, ‘Well, there go Nipsey in the lot. Go talk to him.’ And I talked to him. He said, ‘That’ll be about a week, bro.’ I said, ‘OK.’ And when I said it, it was all bad.
“The gunman turned around the car and shot me, then shot Nipsey, and then shot my nephew. I didn’t know what was going on … I fell on my stomach. All I could see was people’s feet. I couldn’t see nothing else. I said so they got it wrong if they talking about me being an eyewitness. What was I supposed to do? When I see a gun, I turn around and run. I don’t stop and take a selfie of the gunman … It all happened in less than three minutes.”
Lathan then detailed his injuries.
“I got hit close to the spine,” he said. “And they said it chipped a part of my pelvis. So, it’s very difficult for me to walk … I’m in a wheelchair as we speak.”
While in the hospital, Lathan said he was visited by multiple parole officers and his situation took a turn for the worse.
AD LOADING...
“I was there a couple of days and the parole officer came,” Lathan recalled. “He said, ‘This is the one that’s over me.’ And I said, ‘OK.’ So, the one that was over him talked to me and interviewed me and stuff, then he left. So, they came back again two days later with a third parole officer. I’m like, ‘What’s going on now?’ They said, ‘We gotta take you into custody.’ I said, ‘For what?’ They said, ‘It’s over our pay grade. It ain’t us. It’s higher than us.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘It’s the parole board.'”
He continued, “When I get [to Men’s Central Jail], they say, ‘You’re here for [a] parole violation.’ I said, ‘For what?’ ‘Well, coming into contact with a known gang member.’ I said, ‘Man, I didn’t come into contact with nobody. I was visiting some people, going to pay respects to a person’s father who just passed away.’ My buddy Ronnie, his father just died that Sunday. So, that’s all I was doing. And I was just gonna change my shirt so I could look presentable in front of they people. That’s it. And when I stopped over there with Nip, I got shot.”
Lathan is still waiting for an official decision regarding his alleged parole violation. The worst case scenario will send him back to prison.
“They gon’ have me do life again for coming in contact with a gang member and [Nipsey] was a community activist,” he said.
AD LOADING...
Listen to the entire interview with Lathan above. Donate to his GoFundMe here.
[apple_news_ad type=”any”]
