Nathaniel Curtis Freeman, a 33 year old gifted Hip-Hop artist who goes by the name “Nate Grapes,” has been charged with fatally shooting Nycole Lashawne Griffin on April 24, 2022, and Morgan “Max” Kahoaokekai Victor on May 4, 2022. He was arraigned Friday in Multnomah County District Court on two counts each of first- and second-degree murder. This includes three counts each of unlawful use of a weapon and of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also got one count of being a felon in possession of body armor.
Freeman pleaded not guilty to the 11 charges. All of the charges are felonies. Nycole Lashawne Griffin, 30, was in Southeast Portland’s Buckman neighborhood and Morgan “Max” Kahoaokekai Victor, 30, was in Southeast Portland’s Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood.
Nate Grapes was previously convicted in California of voluntary manslaughter with a weapon after a shooting. He fatally shot Berkeley youth sports coach Maceo Smith and wounded Smith’s brother-in-law. U.S. Marshals and the Clackamas County SWAT team arrested Freeman on May 10 after Portland Police Bureau detectives identified him as the suspect in Victor’s death.
Nate Grapes Rapping:
Investigators found six cartridge casings of .223 caliber ammunition, common for an AR-15 type rifle. Bullets had entered the front door, the door knob and Victor’s torso, according to the affidavit. Victor’s girlfriend called 911 after waking up to the sounds of gunshots and finding him shot inside their apartment.
Portland police responded April 24 to reports of a shooting at Southeast 9th Avenue and Ash Street around 1:17 a.m. Officers found six pistol caliber cartridge casings in the area but no victim. Investigators learned Griffin was taken to Emanuel Hospital after the shooting by his friends, where he died.
