A formal charge was not filed Tuesday against a 26-year-old Hawthorne man arrested on suspicion of murder for the slaying of his girlfriend's 2-year-old son, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Hector Ernest Jr., was arrested over the weekend after he and his girlfriend took her unconscious 2-year-old son, Deandre Fitzgerald Green, to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center on Saturday. The boy was pronounced dead within an hour of arriving at the hospital, and Ernest was arrested the following day at the mother's West Long Beach home.
Police said there were signs of abuse on the child's body, including bruising, and suspect neighbors probably heard the child being beaten.
Ernest Jr. was expected to be arraigned on a formal murder charge Tuesday afternoon but the filing was postponed when the DA's office returned the case to Long Beach Police Department 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.
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 their arrest.
Because of the probation violation he is now being held without bail, Robison said.
In the meantime Long Beach Homicide detectives are continuing with their investigation and expect 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.
Hector Ernest Jr., was arrested over the weekend after he and his girlfriend took her unconscious 2-year-old son, Deandre Fitzgerald Green, to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center on Saturday. The boy was pronounced dead within an hour of arriving at the hospital, and Ernest was arrested the following day at the mother's West Long Beach home.
Police said there were signs of abuse on the child's body, including bruising, and suspect neighbors probably heard the child being beaten.
Ernest Jr. was expected to be arraigned on a formal murder charge Tuesday afternoon but the filing was postponed when the DA's office returned the case to Long Beach Police Department 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.
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 their arrest.
Because of the probation violation he is now being held without bail, Robison said.
In the meantime Long Beach Homicide detectives are continuing with their investigation and expect 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.
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