Who Is Carlos Medina? Man Accused of Murdering L.A. Bishop David O'Connell
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department held a press conference on Monday covering the death of Catholic Bishop David O'Connell, as well as their arrested suspect Carlos Medina, 65.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, who lead the briefing, detailed that O'Connel was found in his home with a gunshot wound on February 18.
Police have alleged that Medina is the individual responsible for shooting the Bishop in his Hacienda Heights home.
Speaking at the press conference, Luna said: "Deputies and paramedics arrived at the residence and a male was pronounced deceased at the scene, at the time.
Luna added: "While at the location it was discovered the male was auxiliary Bishop David O'Connel. [He] sustained at least one gun shot wound to the upper body while in the bedroom of his residence.
"At the time, the cause of death was unclear to our detectives but appeared suspicious in nature. A firearm was not recovered at the scene and there was no forced entry into the Bishop's residence.
Luna explained that a vehicle was spotted in O'Connell's driveway on surveillance footage on the same day of the shooting.
On Sunday, detectives also received a tip that a person of interest regarding the shooting resided in the city of Torrance, California. This person was identified as Carlos Medina, according to Luna.
Luna continued: "Detectives were told by the tipster that they were concerned because Medina was acting strange, irrational and made comments about the Bishop owing him money.
"Medina is the husband of Bishop O'Connel's housekeeper, [he has also] previously done work at the Bishop's residence and drove a similar SUV to the one previously seen in the driveway of the Bishop's residence."
Luna also noted that police attempted to arrest Medina around 2 a.m. on Monday, after he had returned to his residence. Initially police made call outs to Medina to surrender and leave his residence, a request he refused.
He eventually complied and stepped out of his residence at around 8:15 a.m. and was subsequently taken into custody without further incident.
As part of the police's search at this home, two firearms were discovered and testing will need to be undertaken to determine if either of the guns were used in the killing of the Bishop.
Newsweek has contacted the The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for comment.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles organisation, of which O'Connell was a member, directed Newsweek to its statement on his death after being contacted.
It told Newsweek that Most Reverend José H. Gomez said: "Bishop Dave was a good friend to Los Angeles.
"Out of his love for God, he served this city for more than forty years, as an immigrant from Ireland. And I would say that among the many things that I admired in him in his life and ministry was that he was fluent in Spanish with an Irish accent.
"Every day he worked to show compassion to the poor, to the homeless, to the immigrant, and to all those living on society's margins.
"He was a good priest and a good bishop, and a man of peace. And we are very sad to lose him. I am very grateful to Sheriff Luna and to his investigative team for their hard work in bringing a suspect into custody.
"So on behalf of the entire Catholic community, we want to express our gratitude for the Sheriff's Office, for their professionalism and sensitivity in what is a sad and painful moment for all of us. Thank you again for your concern and for your coverage.
