Pennsylvania Man Indicted for Attempted Murder in Seaside Heights Motel Shooting

Jose Serrano-Robles (Photo: Ocean County Jail)

An Ocean County grand jury has handed up and indictment against a Pennsylvania man accused of attempted murder following a shooting at a Seaside Heights motel.

Jose Serrano-Robles, 43, of Lebanon, Pa., has also been indicted on weapons charges in connection with the Aug. 16, 2021 incident. According to prosecutors, Seaside Heights police officers responded to a 911 call for reports of gunshots fired at the La Fontana Motel on Grant Avenue. Responding officers found a 51-year-old male victim with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. The victim was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune where he was treated for his injuries and later released.

An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and Seaside Heights Police Department Detective Bureau found that Serrano-Robles and the victim had been sharing a room at the La Fontana Motel, a statement from prosecutors said. A search of the motel room yielded two handguns.

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Seaside Heights officials have previously noted repeated instances of criminal activity at the La Fontana property, and it partially led to the creation of a quality-of-life task force in town.

The La Fontana Motel in Seaside Heights, the subject of complaints at an Aug. 2020 borough council meeting. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The investigation further revealed that Serrano-Robles shot the victim and then fled the area, according to the statement. Detectives from the Seaside Heights Police Department located Serrano-Robles at the Toms River Bus Station, where he was taken into custody without incident. He has been lodged in the Ocean County Jail since the date of his apprehension.