A man wanted in connection with the weekend murder of a longtime Los Angeles bishop was arrested early Monday, sources told the NBC4 I-Team.
Carlos Medina, 65, was arrested Monday morning after a tipster had called police to report that he had been acting "strange" and made comments about Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell owing him money, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said in a news conference. Medina is the husband of the bishop's housekeeper and had previously done work at O'Connell's Hacienda Heights home, where the killing occurred, Luna said.
On Sunday morning, detectives obtained surveillance video showing that a dark-colored compact SUV had briefly pulled into O'Connell's driveway before driving away, Luna said, adding that Medina drove a similar vehicle.
Around 7 p.m. that same day, the tipster called police to report Medina's behavior and said Medina had left Los Angeles County, possibly to Central California, according to the sheriff. Around 2 a.m. Monday, a community member alerted police that Medina had returned to his home on the 2400 block of Kenwood Avenue in Torrance.
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Carson sheriff's station deputies, along with LASD Major Crimes Bureau detectives, arrived at the home and called out for Medina to surrender, but he refused to come out, Luna said. The LASD's Special Enforcement Bureau arrived later Monday morning and again tried to coax Medina out, which he finally did around 8:15 a.m. He was arrested without further incident.
A search warrant served at Medina's home turned up two guns and other evidence possibly linking him to O'Connell's murder, Luna said. The guns still need to be examined and tested to determine if they were used in the killing, the sheriff added.
Investigators were still not certain whether a dispute about money was the motive for the killing, Luna said.
O’Connell, 69, was found dead in a room of his home on the 1500 block of Janlu Avenue in Hacienda Heights around 1 p.m. Saturday, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Michael Modica said.
Industry sheriff's deputies were responding to a medical emergency call when they found O’Connell, who appeared to have been shot in the upper torso. Luna said Monday that a deacon had gone looking for O'Connell after he missed a scheduled meeting. That deacon found him dead and called 911.
There was no signed of forced entry, Luna said.
Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez released a statement Sunday after the LASD determined it was a homicide, saying the archdiocese and parishioners were "deeply disturbed and saddened" by the news.
Gomez fought back tears Monday as he spoke about the bishop.
"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, a good bishop and a man of peace, and we are very sad to lose him," Gomez said.
O’Connell was born in County Cork, Ireland in 1953 and was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015, according to the Los Angeles Archdiocese. He served as a priest and bishop in LA County for more than 45 years.
O’Connell was the chairman of the interdiocesan Southern California Immigration Task Force, as well as the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
On Monday, officials including LA County Board of Supervisors members Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis, as well as state Sen. Bob Archuleta, praised O'Connell's impact on the community. O'Connell's help to immigrants included helping unaccompanied minors get into Catholic school and college, Hahn noted.
“He was the help of the helpless and the hope of the hopeless," she said.
