ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man was sentenced to 22 years in state prison on Monday for shooting and killing another man over a wayward bottle rocket.

The shooting happened around 11 p.m. on July 12, 2022, in the 2500 block of Semple Avenue in the city’s Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood.

Prosecutors said Devin Griffin-Curry was at his grandparent’s house that night while neighbor Rickey Jemore Lathan, 35, was outside with two of his six children, shooting off fireworks.

A bottle rocket zoomed Semple and hit the home of Griffin-Curry’s grandparents.

Griffin-Curry’s grandfather went outside and confronted Lathan, telling him to take the fireworks to a vacant parking lot. While they were arguing, Griffin-Curry grabbed a 9mm pistol, ran from the back of the house, and shot Lathan nine times.

Lathan was pronounced dead at the scene.

Griffin-Curry, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, was certified to stand trial as an adult. He was convicted of second-degree murder and armed criminal action.