The tragic passing of Nipsey Hussle surely left an enormous, gaping hole within the Hip Hop community. The father of two was tragically shot and killed close to a month ago today. And of the numerous bystanders having witnessed Hussle's slaying was a close friend, Kerry Lathan.
Nipsey Hussle/Getty Images
Lathan was recently released from jail following the completion of a 25-year sentence linked to a murder charge. The 56-year old man was placed under strict restrictions upon his release which included a ban on any gang-related affiliations. Hussle, who was a member of the Crips set "Rollin 60's", met up with the released felon at his store "Marathon" to gift clothes in celebration of Lathan's release from prison. It was then that the rapper was struck along with Lathan, who managed to survive the attack.
Since Nipsey's passing, Lathan was arrested on the count of breaching parole regulations and detained in a California detention center. Since then, all charges were dropped. According to Page Six, the slain rapper's associate was released from police custody due to strong consideration that he was simply an innocent bystander. Lauren Noriega, Mr. Lathan's lawyer, added via KABC "he wasn't there to propose any business to Nipsey. He had no idea that Nipsey would be there."