The man who allegedly terrorized a Manhattan community with a violent outburst last year is back on the streets after being sprung from jail without punishment — and spotted menacing bystanders in another part of town.
Identified as Philip Latimer, 37, the visibly disturbed man was spotted several times this week along Canal Street yelling and cursing at anything and anybody that moved. The man, whose face is completely obscured by tattoos, did not seem to be directing his anger at any one person. However, the disorderly behavior turned heads.
“This is the type of guy who needs prolonged treatment,” an eyewitness said.
Latimer was arrested on Sept. 16, 2024 in Kips Bay after he went into an unhinged frenzy beginning when he allegedly threatened the worker at the local laundromat, Bubbles.
“He tried to come in with a knife, so I closed and locked the doors,” she recalled. “Then he kicked it.”
The victim said Latimer became so enraged that he kicked the glass door, sending jagged shards showing in her direction.
“I heard him screaming at the glass, yelling, ‘f**king bitch.’ He stared at the glass and then turned around and then donkey-kicked the front door and it completely shattered,” another female witness said who asked not to be identified. “Then he went into the road by the M15 bus stop.”
After several minutes of wailing in the roadway, he made a run for it into the nearby Bellevue Park, where he continued to threaten those enjoying the evening until cops finally apprehended him and took him into custody.
Sources with knowledge of the case told amNewYork Metro in December that while Latimer spent several months in Rikers Island for the rampage, he was expected to be set loose back on the street after he underwent a psychological evaluation and was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial. The source warned that he would likely be transferred to a medical facility and then set free — and that is exactly what happened.
Less than a month later, on Jan. 22, court records noted that Latimer had released on his own recognizance and all of his upcoming court appearances have been adjourned.
But community residents believe that decision posed a disservice to the community at large, and to Latimer himself.
“It’s not fair to him and it’s not fair to people who live in the area,” an eyewitness to the incident — who does not want to be identified out of fear of retaliation — said after learning of his release. “Something only gets done when something bad happens. Look at the market on 14th street, nothing was done until someone was killed.”
Sources familiar with Latimer’s history reveal that he has had prior run-ins with law enforcement, including the FBI.
As amNewYork Metro previously reported, Latimer hails from Ohio; cops say he was first arrested in New York in May 2023 and has since racked up 10 arrests in that short time, with some sources stating that number is even greater with sealed arrests.
Prior to his most recent arrest, he was cuffed for an assault in August, possessing burglary tools in July, and bail jumping in March.
According to a 2016 report by ABC36 News, Latimer was busted for heroin outside of a shopping center in London, KY. Police say they searched his vehicle and found traces of the drug in used syringes.
