The two men had fought before. This time, their encounter was deadly at Modesto motel

Witnesses say Jamal Bert Sanders had fought with Otis Warren Thomas before. When Sanders found Thomas at his ex-girlfriend’s motel room in Modesto, their ongoing dispute turned deadly.

Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Shawn Bessey on Dec. 30 sentenced Sanders, 37, of Ceres, to 12 years in prison for killing Thomas. The sentencing came after Sanders and prosecutors agreed to a plea deal.

Sanders pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter with an enhancement for using a knife in the fatal stabbing, according to court records. His no contest plea allowed Sanders to avoid a murder trial. An enhancement that alleged Sanders acted with premeditation was dropped.

Thomas was stabbed three years ago in one of the rooms at the Budget Inn motel along South Ninth Street in Modesto. Thomas, 49, of Modesto, was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Prosecutors determined a motive of jealously and a perceived love triangle was behind the fatal stabbing, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.

Stanislaus County sheriff’s officials received a report of the stabbing about 6:45 p.m. Dec. 29, 2016. Deputies arrived and found Thomas with an apparent stab wound to the chest. They found him on the ground just outside one of the motel rooms, but the stabbing occurred in one of the other rooms.

Investigators found a large amount of blood inside the motel room, along with a trail of blood that led to the area where Thomas was found, according to an arrest warrant for Sanders filed in court Feb. 2017. Thomas was apparently stabbed inside the room, before he ran outside and collapsed.

Other tenants at the motel told investigators they heard Thomas screaming, “He stabbed me,” and, “You’re crazy, bro,” according to an affidavit filed in support of the arrest warrant. Security camera video showed Thomas run out of the room, and a man wearing a big jacket grab a white bag and walk away toward South Ninth Street.

One witness told investigators the two men had fought before, and Sanders didn’t like to get beat. Investigators also questioned Sanders’ ex-girlfriend, who had been staying in the motel room where the stabbing occurred since her release from jail in November 2016.

She told an investigator she had been seeing Thomas, and he would hang out with her in the motel room while Sanders was incarcerated. She was at a Hatch Road shopping center when the stabbing occurred, which investigators confirmed.

The ex-girlfriend claimed that Sanders had committed acts of domestic violence upon her, and Thomas had told her he was going to stop Sanders from hitting her again, according to filed affidavit.

Another woman was in the motel room when the stabbing occurred. She told investigators she knew a confrontation would happen as soon as she saw Sanders at the motel room door that evening.

But she thought Thomas and Sanders would just fight, before “she saw a horrible look on Otis’ face,” according to the affidavit. She saw blood as the two men were locked in a struggle, and she started screaming. She ran to get help from a tenant in another motel room. Then, she heard Thomas yelling that he had been stabbed.

Sheriff’s officials have said detectives identified Sanders as the suspect shortly after the stabbing. Detectives went to all the nearby motels and asked about Sanders. On Feb. 6, 2017, more than a month after the stabbing, investigators received a tip that Sanders was at the California Inn motel on South Ninth Street.

Deputies and detectives went to the motel room in which Sanders was staying. He opened the door and surrendered without further incident, sheriff’s officials said.

Sanders received the aggravated prison term for the voluntary manslaughter charge, when he was sentenced for Thomas’ death.

This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 12:01 PM.