Previous complaints of child abuse had been made on behalf of a two-year-old Long Beach boy who died Saturday after being beaten, allegedly by the boyfriend of the slain child's mother, police said Tuesday.
Long Beach investigators were looking into at least two reports made by the family of the dead child's father to the Hawthorne Police Department and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, said Officer Jackie Bezart, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.
The LBPD refused to release details of the prior complaints, citing the on-going investigation into the case and the prime suspect, 26-year-old Hector Ernest Jr. of Hawthorne.
Ernest Jr. was with two-year-old Deandre Fitzgerald Green and Green's mother when the couple rushed the boy to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center Saturday night.
The toddler was unconscious and though emergency room staff worked on him for 45 minutes, Green was pronounced dead within less than an hour of arriving at the hospital.
Ernest Jr. was arrested the following day on suspicion of murder.
Police said Sunday there were signs of abuse on the child's body, including bruising, and suspect neighbors probably heard the child being beaten.
Authorities had expected to file a formal charge Tuesday against Ernest Jr., but the case was sent back to police by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for further investigation.
The suspect, who was originally held in lieu of $1 million bail, remained in the Men's Central Jail Tuesday after prosecutor's filed a probation violation, said Jane Robison, the DA's spokeswoman.<NO1><NO>
A search of Ernest's court records showed several convictions for minor to serious offenses dating back to 2005.
The most recent case resulted in a conviction on March 20, 2009, at the Santa Monica Courthouse for carrying a concealed weapon. Ernest Jr. was also charged with carrying a concealed and loaded magazine and misappropriation in that case, but both the latter counts were dismissed.
He has cases scattered throughout South Los Angeles courthouses, including Inglewood and the Airport Branch.
Among the more serious charges are a conviction for assault and battery on July 12, 2005, and two convictions for disturbing the peace/mutual combat, once on Nov. 18, 2005, and again on Oct. 16, 2007.
Lesser convictions include possession of marijuana and driving on a suspended license or driving without a license, court documents show.
Had the probation violation not been filed Tuesday, Ernest would have been released due to state law requiring that a defendant be charged within 48-hours of arrest.
Because of the probation violation, he is now being held without bail, Robison said.
In the meantime Long Beach homicide detectives were continuing with their investigation and expected to bring the case back for filing sometime this week, authorities said.
Anyone with information about the child's slaying is urged to call Long Beach Police Department Homicide Detectives Mark McGuire or Greg Krabbe at 562-570-7244.
Long Beach investigators were looking into at least two reports made by the family of the dead child's father to the Hawthorne Police Department and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, said Officer Jackie Bezart, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.
The LBPD refused to release details of the prior complaints, citing the on-going investigation into the case and the prime suspect, 26-year-old Hector Ernest Jr. of Hawthorne.
Ernest Jr. was with two-year-old Deandre Fitzgerald Green and Green's mother when the couple rushed the boy to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center Saturday night.
The toddler was unconscious and though emergency room staff worked on him for 45 minutes, Green was pronounced dead within less than an hour of arriving at the hospital.
Ernest Jr. was arrested the following day on suspicion of murder.
Police said Sunday there were signs of abuse on the child's body, including bruising, and suspect neighbors probably heard the child being beaten.
Authorities had expected to file a formal charge Tuesday against Ernest Jr., but the case was sent back to police by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for further investigation.
The suspect, who was originally held in lieu of $1 million bail, remained in the Men's Central Jail Tuesday after prosecutor's filed a probation violation, said Jane Robison, the DA's spokeswoman.<NO1><NO>
A search of Ernest's court records showed several convictions for minor to serious offenses dating back to 2005.
The most recent case resulted in a conviction on March 20, 2009, at the Santa Monica Courthouse for carrying a concealed weapon. Ernest Jr. was also charged with carrying a concealed and loaded magazine and misappropriation in that case, but both the latter counts were dismissed.
He has cases scattered throughout South Los Angeles courthouses, including Inglewood and the Airport Branch.
Among the more serious charges are a conviction for assault and battery on July 12, 2005, and two convictions for disturbing the peace/mutual combat, once on Nov. 18, 2005, and again on Oct. 16, 2007.
Lesser convictions include possession of marijuana and driving on a suspended license or driving without a license, court documents show.
Had the probation violation not been filed Tuesday, Ernest would have been released due to state law requiring that a defendant be charged within 48-hours of arrest.
Because of the probation violation, he is now being held without bail, Robison said.
In the meantime Long Beach homicide detectives were continuing with their investigation and expected to bring the case back for filing sometime this week, authorities said.
Anyone with information about the child's slaying is urged to call Long Beach Police Department Homicide Detectives Mark McGuire or Greg Krabbe at 562-570-7244.
The Killing must stop, join us on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 7:00 pm at the Water Fountains in SAn Pedro on Swinford & Harbor Blvd, for a candlelight Vigil for famlies of murdered victims in Honor of victims of crime week. for more info go to www.jfmc.org