A San Diego County judge said there was enough evidence to move the felony case forward against a famous comedic actor. Faizon Love is accused of ripping a credit card reader off its mount last August and throwing it at a hotel clerk, hitting the side of her head.
Love is well-known for his roles in hit movies like “Elf,” “The Replacements,” “Couples Retreat” and “Friday.” Judge Rohanee Zapanta made her ruling after nearly a full day of testimony during a preliminary hearing.
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Prosecutors charged Love with felony assault with a deadly weapon, with an enhancement to the charge due to great bodily injury to the alleged victim. Love has pleaded not guilty in the case.
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The alleged victim took the stand on Tuesday, testifying that Love became irate after being told the hotel had no vacancy, despite using a third-party hotel booking app. She said she and two co-workers couldn’t calm him down.
“Mr. Love was extremely upset. It was zero to 100 real quick,” the woman told the court. “He was repeatedly asking if we knew who he was.”
She then told District Attorney Jena Scarborough what she said happened next.
“I then proceeded to say that was enough,” the alleged victim said. “Mr. Love looked directly at me, pulled the credit card machine off and threw it [in] my direction.”
The woman testified further that she went to the hospital a couple of hours after the incident and said she suffered a concussion and has had lingering health problems, including a sensitivity to light.
However, under cross-examination from Love’s attorney Marc Kligman, the woman acknowledged differences between her testimony Tuesday and what she told the 911 operator and responding police officers in August.
That included the severity of injuries and whether she thought Love was targeting her specifically. In an effort to highlight potential inconsistencies, Kligman played back San Diego Police Department body camera video from the officers who responded that night.
The front-desk clerk’s two co-workers also testified about the incident, saying they witnessed the attack. Kligman again referenced the body camera video to highlight differences in their stories.
Specifically, whether they both actually saw the card reader strike the woman in the head, or just possibly heard the sound of it striking the wall. One of the witnesses admitted that he actually didn’t see the woman get hit.
“What should give the court pause … is in the insufficiency of the evidence and credibility of the witnesses,” Kiligman said.
During closing arguments, Kligman also introduced the possibility that the alleged victim was motivated by more than justice. That woman filed a civil lawsuit against Love, seeking money to pay for her medical bills as well as for the physical and emotional pain she said she’s suffered.
“I think there’s quite a bit of motivation for her to make this up, to exaggerate,” Kligman said.
In the end, the judge said there was enough probable cause to believe that the charges Love faced were true. He was immediately arraigned on those charges and the court set a trial date for January of next year. Love faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
