On September 29, 2017, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, a Black / African American man named Ja’uan Eugene Love, aged 37, was fatally shot. The incident that led to his death unfolded in the parking lot of the Lamplighter Lounge after the establishment had closed for the night. Love had been at the lounge with his brothers, and another group, which included Peter Devonn Crosby and two companions, was also present.
Surveillance footage from inside the lounge indicated that there were no altercations between the two groups.
After 2 a.m., both groups were seen "milling around" in the parking lot. Crosby and his companions were observed speaking to a man in the driver's seat of a car. Crosby briefly went to the vehicle he had arrived in and then returned to the other car. Love also approached this same car and had a conversation with the man inside; no physical conflict was observed between them.
For reasons that remain unclear from the available information, Crosby then pulled out a gun and shot Love from behind. The Ramsey County medical examiner's office determined that Love was shot once in the left side of his head, with a second bullet entering the back of his right shoulder and traveling into his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Following the shooting, the man in the car drove away, and Crosby's two friends fled on foot. Crosby left in the car he had arrived in.
An investigation into the shooting led authorities to identify 35-year-old Peter Devonn Crosby as the suspect. Investigators found that two of Crosby's friends who were with him that night were uncooperative with the police. Phone records were used to track Crosby's movements between Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. He was eventually located and taken into custody in Illinois, awaiting extradition to Minnesota. Crosby was subsequently charged with one count of second-degree murder with intent in connection with the death of Ja'uan E. Love. A warrant for his arrest was issued in October 2017.
