Murder suspect arrested at hotel

Glendale police and U.S. Marshals arrested a 64-year-old man in a local hotel Thursday night on suspicion of beating his roommate to death in Northern California, officials said.

Lawrence Hoffman of Burlingame in San Mateo County was taken into custody as he was leaving his room at the Golden Key Hotel in the 100 block of Colorado Street, Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

Burlingame Police Department officials notified their Glendale counterparts and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force that they had tracked Hoffman to the hotel using his cell phone records, Burlingame Capt. Mike Matteucci said.

Hoffman was known to visit the Los Angeles area, he added.

Glendale police kept Hoffman under surveillance for a short period as Burlingame police investigated the death in their city, officials said.

Burlingame police got a tip about 3 p.m. Thursday from an anonymous source that Hoffman had confessed that he “recently killed a man.”

Police went to Hoffman’s apartment in the 1900 block of Garden Drive in Burlingame and found the body of his 70-year-old roommate, identified as Joseph Cosentino, officials said.

Cosentino may have been dead since Monday, Matteucci said.

The exact time and cause of death remain under investigation, San Mateo County coroner’s officials said.

Hoffman and Cosentino were roommates for about three months, Matteucci said.

Burlingame police transported Hoffman from Glendale to the San Mateo County jail, where he was booked.

The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, which includes two Glendale and two Pasadena police officers, works out of the Glendale Police Department headquarters.

On average, the group arrests 25 suspects who are wanted in connection with violent crimes each month, Lorenz said.