Suspect Arrested in Man’s Killing

A jealous former boyfriend allegedly shot a North Hollywood man to death after discovering him with his ex-girlfriend in a parked car, Los Angeles police said Saturday.

Martin Santiago, 21, was shot several times in the upper body shortly after midnight Friday, said Sgt. Ray Davies of the LAPD North Hollywood Division.

Jose Manuel Naranjo, 20, also of North Hollywood, was arrested in the killing.

According to a written statement from police, Naranjo found his former girlfriend sitting with Santiago in a parked car in the 11000 block of Archwood St. “[Naranjo] became enraged, attempted to enter the victim’s vehicle, [and] then produced a handgun, firing several shots as Santiago attempted to flee,” the statement said.

The 19-year-old woman sitting next to Santiago was not injured, authorities said. She had recently filed a restraining order against Naranjo, police said.

Officers arrested Naranjo after responding to a “burglary from a motor vehicle” call near the shooting. Officers saw a man run from the scene and enter his car. After a brief high-speed pursuit, officers detained Naranjo at Vanowen Street and Ensign Avenue. Officers recovered a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun from the front seat of the car, police said.

About that time, officers received a “shots fired” call and found Santiago lying in a driveway with several gunshot wounds. Paramedics could not revive him, police said.

Naranjo was booked for investigation of murder at the Van Nuys jail, where he is being held in lieu of $1-million bail, authorities said. Naranjo will be arraigned Tuesday in Van Nuys Municipal Court.