Ricardo Medina was used to portraying tough guy behavior and wielding a deadly sword when he played a Power Ranger, but now he’s in serious trouble. Medina, a former Power Rangers Samurai star, has been formally charged with murder, and in a “tragic case of life imitating art,” the murder weapon was a sword.
Umm… so… there’s this: #PowerRangers star Ricardo Medina charged with murder https://t.co/6Hiu61BKAG pic.twitter.com/G3brn3DpuH
— Superpowered Review (@TSPReview) January 14, 2016
Last year, Medina was arrested as a suspect in the murder of his roommate, Josh Sutter, but he wasn’t charged. Ricardo was released soon after the arrest and has been a free man ever since, much to the delight of Power Rangers fans. One Twitter user stood up for Medina with a tweet that insisted Ricardo was innocent of wrongdoing, and that “it was just an accident.”
FREE RICARDO MEDINA! There’s no way he did what he did and if he did, i’m sure this was just an accident! #RicardoMedina #freericardomedina
— Carlos Gomez (@iCarlos1996) February 2, 2015
At the time of the first arrest, Ricardo thought he was out of the woods, and Huffington Post reports that he made a statement of support for Josh Sutter’s family.
“I’m very, very, very sorry for what occurred. I’m very happy to be out of jail, and my heart goes out to the Sutter family.”
But the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office thought there might be more to the story of Ricardo, 36, and Josh, also 36, and asked the Sheriff’s Department to continue the investigation. The police have been doing their job for the past year, and this morning, Ricardo’s freedom came to an end. According to TMZ , Medina was re-arrested “outside his house” in Palmdale, California, and was charged with murder.
When Medina was arrested the first time, he insisted that the stabbing death of his friend and roommate was a case of self defense, not murder. Ricardo and Josh were arguing, and as things heated up, the “fight got physical.” According to the story Medina told, he and his girlfriend went into Ricardo’s room, away from Josh. The retreat didn’t work, as “Sutter forced his way in.” Medina, the former Samurai actor, had a sword in his room, picked it up to protect himself, and ended up stabbing Sutter “through the abdomen.”
#fitness [NEWS] No charges filed against Ricardo Medina Jr. after self defense killing: Self… http://t.co/OU7GBeHErj
— Erica Landing (@EricaLanding) February 10, 2015
ABC News reports that a friend explained that Medina was acting in self defense and called 911 right away, remaining on the scene to be arrested.
“It absolutely was self-defense. It’s definitely somebody that was coming after him and he did what he had to do.”
Sutter’s sister, Rachel Kennedy, said that Rick didn’t like people in his room, and that might have triggered the stabbing.
“I could see Josh maybe trying to talk to him and Rick not wanting him in his space, cause that’s where he spent most of his time, in his bedroom, and maybe Josh entered his space and he didn’t like that very much.”
Josh’s family are saying that the police found Medina’s story didn’t fit with the evidence, and that’s why he’s been arrested again and charged with murder this time. There were defensive wounds on Sutter’s hands, “and most of the blood was outside Sutter’s room.” Medina’s story of how it happened centred on his room, rather than the rest of the house. He claimed that the stabbing occurred inside his room where Josh was found when the paramedics arrived. But in that case, there shouldn’t have been blood anywhere else.
Ricardo Medina Jr’s undamaged bedroom door ‘shows he didn’t act in self-defense’, victim’s sister says http://t.co/1Mbqyz740o
— Certified (@ayo_RAF) February 4, 2015
The charge of murder could put Medina in jail for up to 26 years if he’s convicted.
[Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]
