A homeless woman was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years to life in prison for the fatal shooting of a film marketing consultant who worked on social justice campaigns with well-known figures in Hollywood.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kerry L. White imposed the maximum term allowed under Jameelah Elena Michl’s June 24 guilty plea to one count each of first-degree murder and first-degree residential burglary in connection with Michael Latt’s killing at his home in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles.
The 36-year-old woman — who police said lived in her car — was arrested at the scene of the shooting, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Latt, the 33-year-old founder and CEO of Lead With Love, worked with filmmaker Ryan Coogler and musician/actor Common on various campaigns. He was shot at his home in the 900 block of Alandele Avenue and died after being taken to a hospital.
When Michl was charged last November, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said she targeted Latt “for being friends with a woman she had been stalking.”
Michl knocked on the door of Latt’s home, forced her way inside when the door was opened and then shot Latt with a semi-automatic handgun, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Deputy District Attorney Cristhian Ochoa told the judge that Latt’s killing was “a planned execution,” saying that she “carefully chose the victim to send a message” to film director A.V. Rockwell and forced her way inside the home and shot Latt twice before the gun jammed.
The victim’s mother, Michelle Satter, who knocked on the door and found her son mortally wounded, attempted to render aid, the prosecutor told the judge.
In a letter read in court, the victim’s parents wrote that their son was “completely innocent” and that she forced her way into the home “all because she wanted to hurt one of Michael’s friends.” They wrote that they are “still in shock that Michael was taken from us” and that “the pain will never go away.”
The victim’s fiance, Hannah Lovegood, who was at the home when he was shot to death, wrote in a letter that she is haunted by what happened and called the devastation “profound.”
“Your actions shattered my future and stole the love of my life,” she wrote, directly addressing the defendant. “I hope you understand the magnitude of your actions …”
One of Latt’s friends, Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Culver City, said the murder has been “incomprehensible,” saying that it’s now impossible to drive by the apartment that was once a gathering spot without feeling pain. He called his friend a “force for good” and said the world needed Latt.
In a statement read in court on her client’s behalf, defense attorney Kimberly Wong said, “Ms. Michl changed her plea to guilty in order to take responsibility for her actions and (to) do the right thing for all involved.”
She noted that her client had been homeless for nine months at the time and was struggling with multiple traumatic events, and said Michl was “deeply saddened” by the pain she had caused and hoped that her change in plea would aid in the healing process.
Latt, a graduate of Chapman University, worked on marketing campaigns for “Fruitvale Station,” Ryan Coogler’s 2013 film about the killing of Oscar Grant by police in Oakland. Latt said in a 2019 Forbes profile that it was a turning point in his career.
“Working on Ryan Coogler’s `Fruitvale Station’ opened my eyes up to how prevalent and insidious white supremacy is in our country and also showed me the potent power of storytelling to change hearts and minds,” he said.
Latt worked on marketing campaigns for “The Birth of a Nation,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “I Am Not Your Negro” and “Crazy Rich Asians.”
He also worked with Ava DuVernay, Barry Jenkins, Warner Bros. and Netflix on events and political initiatives.
In addition, he worked for Imagine Justice, a nonprofit founded by Common, which advocates for prison reform.
Latt served as a communications consultant for DuVernay’s ARRAY Now, and was marketing director for Blackout for Human Rights, a network of entertainment professionals founded by Coogler to speak out against killings by police.
After his death, Latt’s mother, the founding senior director of artists programs at the Sundance Institute, posted on social media that her son had “devoted his career to supporting artists, championing organizations that raised up artists of color, and leveraged storytelling for enduring change.”
Others posted on social media about Latt and his contributions to social justice and humanitarian campaigns.
“I cannot even begin to express what we’ve lost with Michael Latt’s murder,” Franklin Leonard, the founder of Black List, posted on social media. “He was the absolute best of us. Rest in Power, my friend.”