ONTARIO, CA - An Ontario man is in custody, charged with beating his girlfriend’s two-and-a-half year-old son to death.
Police say Michael Lucero, 20, was booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga and formally charged with the child’s death.
A criminal complaint was filed by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office alleging Lucero committed abuse of the toddler that resulted in the boy’s death while the boy’s mother was at work.
According to court documents, the injured toddler was brought to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana after he lost consciousness at his home in the 1100 block of East Philadelphia Street Thursday shortly after midnight.
Police officers were called after hospital officials reported a child had been brought in with life-threatening injuries. After being evaluated, paramedics rushed the boy to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he died later that morning.
“This investigation is still ongoing,” said police spokesman Cpl. Bill Russell. “Detectives are trying to determine if there was a propensity for violence and if anyone else knew this was occurring.”
Police have said Lucero babysat his girlfriend’s child while she was working, and the boy’s mother hasn’t been labeled a suspect at this time.
“It’s still undetermined if she knew Lucero had a history of violent behavior with her son,” Russell said. Anyone with information was asked to contact the Ontario police department at 909-986-6711 or Detective Justin Johnson at 909-395-864.
The San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office hadn’t released the autopsy report. Michael Lucero is currently being held without bail on suspicion of murder and child neglect resulting in death.
