Man Killed, Another Hurt in Motel Shooting

A 22-year-old Saugus man was shot to death early Saturday at a motel after he was apparently mistaken for a gang member during a gang-related attack, Los Angeles police said.

Brandon Richard Jaramillo was shot once in the upper torso during the attack at the Good Nite Inn in the 12800 block of Encinitas Avenue, police said. He died at the motel.

Another man, who was also shot in the upper body, was in stable condition at an area hospital, said Det. Frank Bishop of the LAPD’s Foothill Division.

Bishop declined to identify the injured man, saying his attacker remained at large.

Bishop said the wounded man is a suspected gang member, and that Jaramillo was his friend. But he said Jaramillo has no known gang affiliation.

“We have no indication that he’s a bad guy,” Bishop said. “He was just there.”

Bishop said trouble started about 1 a.m. when marauding gang members arrived at the well-kept motel just off Interstate 5, about 15 miles south of the Magic Mountain theme park.

“The suspect gang was going throughout the Good Nite Inn looking for rival gang members to cause a fight,” said Bishop, who declined to name either gang.

The ruckus prompted many motel guests to check out early, said a desk clerk who refused to give her name.

“Look at all these refunds,” she said, holding up a pile of paperwork.

Neither the victims nor the suspects were registered at the motel, and the shootings occurred outside rooms on a second-story landing.

A sign in the motel parking lot warns loiterers that the LAPD has the power to remove them, but Bishop said the motel is not a known gang hangout.

“We don’t know why they chose this location,” Bishop said.

He said detectives are seeking witnesses to the shootings.