His 74th-minute free-kick was more in search of a team-mate than the net but it eluded everyone to creep in at the far corner of Graeme Smith's net.
It was cruel luck on Motherwell who perhaps deserved a share of the spoils for what they put into the game.
They created a chance after barely two minutes when David Clarkson hit the by-line and cut the ball back for Chris Porter but his six-yard shot was instinctively blocked by Tim Krul and Falkirk managed to scramble the loose ball away for a corner.
Motherwell were tidy in their build-up play and their short passing in midfield opened up Falkirk's makeshift defence which was missing Jack Ross and Darren Barr.
Far all that, it was careless play from Tom Scobbie that almost gave Motherwell the breakthrough when his attempted clearance struck Clarkson but the defender recovered in time to mop up the scraps before the visitors could take advantage.
Porter, who had to go off for several minutes after a head knock, returned to the action to rattle Falkirk's post with a well-struck shot from the edge of the area midway through the first half.
But for all their threatening play going forward, Motherwell's defence was panic-stricken at times as they struggled to cope with Pedro Moutinho and Michael Higdon.
After one goalmouth scramble, it took Graeme Smith to deny Higdon and the Motherwell goalkeeper had to react swiftly shortly afterwards to claw away a deflected shot from Moutinho.
There was a let-off for Falkirk shortly before half-time when Clarkson laid the ball back intelligently for Stephen Hughes but he side-footed a tame effort at Krul when he had time to do better.
Scott Arfield responded with a tremendous run when he cut inside from the left but his final shot dipped just over the crossbar.
Motherwell had a penalty claim turned down early in the second half when Kenny Milne appeared to catch Clarkson.
Clarkson then set up Steven McGarry but, when he pulled the trigger, Krul proved equal to the task as he batted the ball to safety.
But it was Falkirk that made the breakthrough 16 minutes from time. Latapy looked as surprised as anyone when the ball crept into the far corner of the net with Graeme Smith making a belated lunge to try and keep it out.
It proved enough for the three points even if the final outcome was rather cruel on Motherwell.