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A former New Jersey resident who was acquitted in the high-profile stabbing death of his neighbor in Cumberland County three years ago has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in a Florida domestic violence case.
Zachary T. Latham, 24, was arrested in 2023 on charges of stalking, kidnapping and assaulting a woman he had previously dated in Florida.
Prosecutors in Florida announced Tuesday that Latham had entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to state prison.
Latham’s New Jersey case made national news when he was tried for the 2020 killing of William T. Durham Sr., 51, in the Vineland neighborhood where they both lived.
A feud between Latham and the Durham family culminated in a bloody brawl that ended with Durham stabbed multiple times.
Latham claimed he acted in self-defense when Durham — who was a senior state corrections officer — and his two sons came onto his property.
The Durhams claimed Latham lured the victim into the fatal fight to gain “TikTok fame.”
Following a trial that aired on Court TV, a jury found Latham not guilty on charges of second-degree reckless manslaughter, aggravated assault and weapons offenses.
Latham relocated to Florida, where his trouble with the law continued.
While he was awaiting trial in the New Jersey case, he was arrested in Florida in 2021 on charges that he threatened a motorist with a pellet gun that resembled an AK-47.
Latham entered a plea of no contest to third-degree charges and was sentenced in 2023 to a year and eight months in prison. He was given credit for 811 days he already spent behind bars before he was sentenced.
He was soon back in jail, accused of assaulting a Florida woman he met online when he lived in New Jersey, according to the State Attorney’s Office for Lee County.
The pair began dating after Latham relocated to Florida. When she tried to end the relationship, Latham refused to leave her alone, local officials said.
He began following her in August 2023 and in one incident forced her to get in her car and drive them around Fort Myers, prosecutors said. When she tried to escape and scream for help, he forced her to stay in the car and choked her, briefly causing the woman to lose consciousness, prosecutors said.
In another incident, Latham locked the woman in the bathroom at his apartment. She was able to get free and flee in her car as he tried to stop her.
The victim also obtained a protective order, which he violated, according to prosecutors.
After he was arrested and jailed, Latham sent several messages to a friend in which he threatened the woman, authorities said.
Latham was sentenced as a “habitual violent felony offender,” a designation under Florida law that carries tougher penalties.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison on a second-degree attempted kidnapping charge. He must serve at least 10 years of that sentence before he’s eligible for release. He was sentenced to a concurrent five-year term for domestic violence/strangulation.
He was also sentenced to a concurrent 12-year term for first-degree witness tampering. He faces 15 years of probation when he’s released and he must wear a GPS device for three years of probation and have no contact with the victim or her family.
Feuding N.J. neighbors
The 2020 fatal stabbing Latham was accused of in Vineland stemmed from a dispute between neighbors over his driving.
Latham, who turned 18 just weeks before the killing, lived with his grandparents several houses down from the Durhams. Prior to the killing, he had been emancipated at 17, gotten married and served as a private in the New Jersey National Guard.
The Durhams reported to police that Latham began harassing the family and posting videos of them on social media after Durham’s wife told Latham to slow down after he allegedly sped down the street they share.
The dispute boiled over on May 4, 2020, when the family alleged that Latham swerved his car toward one of the Durhams’ sons as the teen rode his bike, authorities said.
Much of what followed was captured on cellphone video, culminating in a violent confrontation in the driveway and garage at Latham’s home.
Latham was armed with a stun gun and a knife when the Durhams arrived at his house. Durham Sr. and his two sons, ages 21 and 17, were unarmed.
Two friends who were with Latham jumped into the fight as Latham’s wife recorded the melee with her cellphone.
Durham Sr. suffered multiple stab wounds, including one that punctured a lung. He died later at a hospital.
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