A Chino Hills man was pulled from his vehicle and brutally beaten to death by the boyfriend of a woman he was with on Wednesday, deputies said.
Authorities were alerted to the violence after the woman ran into Hotel Chino Hills with blood on her clothes, shouting for help, at about 1:15 a.m., the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
Deputies responded to the hotel, on the 15400 block of Fairfield Ranch Road, and found 54-year-old Martin Zendejas in the parking lot with injuries to his head and face. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.
Homicide detectives who responded to the scene determined Zendejas was in his car outside the hotel with a female friend when the pair was confronted by the woman’s boyfriend, 44-year-old Chino Hills resident Ivan Mejia.
Mejia is accused of pulling Zendejas from his car and fatally beating him.
Detectives found the suspect as he was leaving his home and took him into custody.
He was booked on suspicion of murder at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, deputies said.
Inmate records showed he was being held without bail and scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 21.