Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer’s office released a statement regarding a male barber in Placentia who stands accused of serious crimes. The 41-year-old Ernest Lamar Love is facing charges of murder, felony child abuse, and felony child abuse resulting in death for allegedly using wood to strike and injure a 6-year-old boy under his care, ultimately leading to the child’s death.
Love is currently detained without bail and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted on all counts, he could face a maximum sentence of 32 years to life in prison, plus an additional 5-year term.
On the afternoon of August 29th, Chance Crawford, a 6-year-old boy, was taken by his mother, an assistant nurse at St. Joseph Hospital, to the barbershop where Love was supposed to take care of him after completing his third day of first grade at school. His mother was scheduled to work the night shift that evening.
Around 1:30 a.m., Love brought Crawford to the emergency room at the Orange County Children’s Hospital where the child was found unconscious with difficulty breathing. Medical examination revealed severe injuries including a large part of muscle missing from the boy’s buttocks, a laceration, subdural hematoma, severe brain swelling, and other injuries consistent with violent shaking. The child also had a fractured shoulder blade. Unfortunately, Crawford succumbed to his injuries on September 3.
Surveillance footage from 3 hours earlier (10:30 p.m.) showed Love entering the barbershop with a large piece of wood, while Crawford followed reluctantly. It was reported that the boy was beaten for wetting himself at the park.
Love is accused of beating the boy with the wood, pouring hydrogen peroxide on the wounds, and forcing him to do push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping exercises. After the child collapsed, instead of calling 911, Love chose to drive him to the children’s hospital’s emergency room.
District Attorney Spitzer remarked, “As Chance’s new classmates celebrated the end of their first week of first grade, his seat was empty, and he was fighting for his life in a hospital bed. The horrors that this young boy was forced to endure are beyond words – all at the hands of someone who should have been protecting him, not subjecting him to torture leading to his death.” He assured that justice would be sought for the deceased to the fullest extent.
According to KTLA, Love met Crawford’s mother at a church where he was involved in children’s ministry. She considered him a friend and entrusted him with caring for her child. A former church member who wished to remain anonymous noted that Love displayed signs of being easily angered but had not witnessed him taking it out on children.