An Illinois man who shot and killed a St. Paul barber outside a bar on Larpenteur Avenue last year apologized for his actions Tuesday, saying his decision to pull the trigger took away fathers from two families.
Peter Devonn Crosby, 36, asked his attorney, Carole Finneran, to read the statement he wrote about killing Ja’uan Eugene Love at his sentencing in Ramsey County District Court Tuesday morning.
Crosby received nearly 22 years in prison on one count of intentional second-degree murder in Love’s death, despite his attorney’s request that the judge give him less time.
At his plea hearing in October, Crosby said he was in St. Paul visiting relatives following his uncle’s death when he and two cousins decided to go to the Lamplighter Lounge to drink and commiserate Sept. 29, 2017.
One of his cousins was carrying thousands of dollars in cash on him that night and asked Crosby to go to his car to retrieve the man’s gun in case someone tried to rob him.
Crosby had the gun on him when he and his cousin sat in his vehicle outside the St. Paul strip club later that night.
That’s when Crosby said Love walked up to them and made a rude comment about his recently deceased uncle.
Angry, Crosby took out the gun and fired two bullets from behind Love, fatally striking the 37-year-old in the head and shoulder.
“I wish I had never been at the bar that night,” Crosby wrote in his statement. “My actions that night caused me to lose time with my kids and Mr. Love to lose time with his kids. Both of our kids now have to grow up without fathers.”
He continued, “I know I have to take responsibility for that loss. Mr. Love didn’t have a choice. I apologize deeply and sincerely that I created so much pain. As days go by I hope that the family can forgive me for what I have done.”
Love’s mother, father and brother also spoke at the hearing, describing to the judge the impact of Love’s death on his children and other loved ones.
After the shooting, Crosby fled to Madison, Wis., to stay with his sister, and eventually dumped the gun in Lake Michigan.
He was arrested after police reviewed surveillance video captured of the incident and traced his cell phone, court records say.
Crosby is also a father of five.