PORTLAND, Ore. — Nathaniel Curtis Freeman, also known as Portland rapper 'Nate Grapes,' was sentenced to two consecutive life in prison sentences for two separate fatal shootings last year.
Freeman, 34, was sentenced on Thursday without the possibility of parole for shooting and killing 30-year-old Ny’Cole Griffin in April 2022, as well as 30-year-old Morgan “Max” Victor in May of the same year. Griffin had been left in a private vehicle and was dropped off at Legacy Emanuel hospital where he was determined to be dead, and Victor had been found shot dead inside an apartment in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood.
Nikki Griffin-Ware, Griffin's mother, told KGW that her son "had such a huge energy that filled the room every time he was present with one of the most contagious laughs."
"He was a great son, awesome brother, an amazing uncle and friend," she continued. "He was a protector and a real super hero to me. He loved me beyond words; I felt and knew it every day, and I miss him, his goofiness and just awesome personality and huge tight hugs. This guy Nathaniel Freeman has killed prior and after killing my son and should have never been out of jail, in my opinion."
In August, Freeman had been found guilty on multiple charges, including two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of unlawful use of a weapon with a firearm.
In 2008, Freeman was previously charged for killing a man and injuring another man in a shooting near the University of California Berkeley campus in California, according to an article published by the San Francisco Chronicle. The shooting stemmed from a dispute at a party and "centered over nothing, just some perception of disrespect by the suspect to the injured but surviving victim," a prosecutor told the newspaper at the time.
Freeman is currently in custody in Multnomah County and will be transported to the Oregon Department of Corrections to serve his sentence, according to the county district attorney's office.