A Vineland man charged in the stabbing death of his neighbor has agreed to stop commenting publicly about the case, following a motion for a gag order in the courts.
Zachary T. Latham, 18, is accused of stabbing William T. Durham Sr., 52, during a brawl that the Durham family said followed weeks of harassment and threats by the defendant.
Latham claimed he was defending himself when he used a stun gun on the victim, a state corrections officer, then stabbed him multiple times on May 4.
A Superior Court judge who approved an order prohibiting public remarks by Latham also expressed concern during a Friday hearing about the public release of communications between attorneys for the Durham family and the prosecutor’s office.
Latham, who was charged with aggravated manslaughter, was released from jail pre-trial and has repeatedly commented about the case on social media. A friend of the Durhams said Latham has taunted him online and the Durhams' home address was shared in the comments section of one of Latham’s TikTok posts.
The Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office filed a motion in August seeking an order that would prohibit all parties, including Latham, the Durhams and their attorneys, from making public comments.
In addition to Latham’s posts, Assistant Prosecutor Charles Wettstein pointed to comments made by Durham family attorney Diane M. Ruberton regarding Latham’s criminal record and prior “uncharged conduct.”
In an August interview with NJ Advance Media, Ruberton described Latham’s juvenile record and a history of violence that she said should have been raised during his detention hearing.
Wettstein also referenced letters exchanged between attorneys for the Durhams and the prosecutor’s office, the contents of which were obtained by NJ Advance Media. In a letter to the prosecutor, Ruberton and attorney Robert Simons argued that Latham had lured the victim into the fatal showdown and called for him to face murder charges. The letter also sought dismissal of complaints against the victim’s wife, Catherine, and the couple’s two sons, who were also charged in the May 4 incident.
William T. Durham Sr., a correctional officer at South Woods State Prison, was stabbed to death in a fight with a neighbor.
In addition, Wettstein described comments made by Durham family friend Mike Gallagher, who is a vice president with PBA Local 105, the union that represented the slain officer. Gallagher has been interviewed several times about the case and expressed his opinions on Latham and the charges he should face.
All of this, Wettstein argued in his motion, endangered the chance of selecting an impartial jury.
The prosecution and Latham’s public defender, Nathan Perry, reached an agreement that the defendant would no longer comment on the case in any forum and Superior Court Judge Cristen P. D’Arrigo signed a consent order memorializing that understanding Friday. The order also notes that Latham must seek permission from the court before “any change of address outside the State of New Jersey.”
Some of his post-release TikToks were apparently made from Florida.
While he only acted on the Latham portion of the prosecution’s motion and denied the remainder without prejudice, meaning the issues can be raised again, D’Arrigo expressed concern about the release of information from the letters.
“Some of the assertions made by the prosecutor are very disturbing to the court, particularly divulging communications between the prosecutor and defense counsel in negotiations of a case or the investigation of any other case,” D’Arrigo said. “And I want to make it clear to counsel that that type of information being made public is the responsibility of the attorney who received it or transmitted it. There’s no innocent release of that type of information.”
When Ruberton responded that she has been compliant with all rules governing attorney conduct, D’Arrigo stressed that he wasn’t saying otherwise, noting that he only heard one side of the story.
“The only thing the court is really concerned about is if an attorney is violating their professional conduct rules in muddying the water of a potential jury pool. I don’t know that that’s happened and I’m not making any findings that that has happened.”
Ruberton said she had attempted to file a response motion in the matter, but was unable to because she wasn’t a party to this case.
The challenge here is that Ruberton represents the Durhams as a victim advocate in this case, but also represents two Durham family members who are defendants facing their own charges in the brawl, D’Arrigo explained.
If the prosecution chooses to pursue the matter, any motions regarding Ruberton would need to be made by the prosecutor handling those cases in which she is acting as defense counsel, D’Arrigo concluded.
“This is a unique sort of case, because the victims in one case are defendants in another case, where the victim in that case is the defendant in this case,” the judge said. “So we have a blended situation. Generally speaking, I’m going to focus on each case governing the attorneys and the defendant in each case. That’s the only way I think I can separate it out.”
Speaking after the hearing, Ruberton noted that she has always followed rules of professional conduct and attorney ethics.
“Any insinuation otherwise ... they don’t have the full picture of what is going on,” she said.
The Durhams say an argument over Latham speeding on the street they share led to Latham posting videos to TikTok in which he harassed the family and encouraged others to do the same. The conflict reached a boiling point on May 4 when a verbal dispute turned physical.
Following a confrontation moments earlier in front of the Durham home, Durham Sr. and his two sons came to the Latham house. Latham, who had armed himself with a stun gun and knives, warned them to leave. The Durhams, who were unarmed, ignored the warning and a fight began. Two of Latham’s friends joined in as Latham’s wife recorded the incident on her phone.
William T. Durham is shown with his wife of 32 years, Tiffany.
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
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