Ex-Power Ranger goes rogue

Ricardo Medina jailed on suspicion of stabbing roommate with sword; bail set at $1 million

Actor Ricardo Medina, who co-starred in the Power Rangers Wild Force television series, has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing a roommate to death with a sword in Southern California, reported Reuters. The slaying on Saturday afternoon, in Palmdale, California, stemmed from an argument between the suspect and the victim that turned violent, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

According to an account provided by the sheriff’s deputies, Medina, 36, retreated to his bedroom with his girlfriend during the altercation, but his roommate, Joshua Sutter, followed them and forced open the door. Medina was then accused of stabbing the 36-year-old Sutter in the stomach with a sword kept next to his bedroom door. Police say Medina then called emergency 911 and remained at the scene until the sheriff’s deputies arrived.



Although immediately rushed to the hospital, Sutter was unable to survive, reported The Independent. Medina was later jailed on suspicion of murder, in lieu of $1 million, after being interviewed by homicide detectives. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s department confirmed that Medina is the actor who played the Red Lion Wild Force Ranger on the Power Rangers Wild Force TV series in 2002.

According to IMDb, Medina also depicted the role of Deker on a later series, Power Rangers Samurai, and has previously appeared on primetime shows, such as CSI: Miami and ER. His agent Gar Lester said he found the allegations against Medina hard to believe, reported Los Angeles Times. “He has been my friend and client for 12 years and he’s a great guy,” he stated. “He’s great to his dog, he’s great to his people. He’s really a super person.”

Medina’s neighbour, Justin Adamson, said the actor had moved into the neighbourhood nearly two months ago. “We brought him some bread and just tried to interact a little bit with him, but he was more the type of guy that didn’t really want to communicate,” said Adamson.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th,  2015.

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