PA Man Indicted In Shooting Of Seaside Heights Motel Roommate

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Pennsylvania man has been indicted in the August shooting of his roommate at a Seaside Heights motel, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Jose Serrano-Robles, 43, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, has been indicted on charges of attempted murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, and being a certain person not to possess weapons, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Seaside Heights police received a 911 call about 2 a.m. on Aug. 16 reporting shots fired at the La Fontana Motel on Grant Avenue. Officers found a 51-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune but later recovered and was released from the hospital, Billhimer said.

Investigators learned Serrano-Robles and the victim had been sharing a room at the La Fontana Motel, and found two handguns during a search of the room, Billhimer said. The investigators determined Serrano-Robles shot the victim and then fled, he said.

Seaside Heights detectives found Serrano-Robles at the Toms River bus station and arrested him, Billhimer said. He has been held at the Ocean County Jail since his arrest.

Assistant Prosecutor Genna Moscato presented the case to the grand jury.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime and High Tech Crime units, Seaside Heights police, Toms River police, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation and K-9 units, and the sheriff's office Warrants Division combined in the investigation and arrest.

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