Ricardo Medina Jr. may have played a hero in "reel" life as the Red Lion Wild Force Ranger but his latest deed is anything but heroic.
Medina, who once appeared in the Power Rangers Samurai, reportedly stabbed his roommate to death with a samurai sword after the two had a heated argument.
The 37-year-old former Power Ranger actor, who also worked as a male stripper on the side, was arrested in Palmdale, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 31, after stabbing his roommate, Joshua Sutter, in the abdomen. The LA County Sherriff's Department took him into custody after the incident.
Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez from the Sheriff's Information Bureau said that the two men had an argument before the stabbing took place around 4 p.m. The argument eventually turned into a physical encounter.
Medina reportedly tried to retreat into his room with his girlfriend, the sole witness of the incident, but things got worse when Sutter broke into Medina's room, forcing his way in.
Sutter's forceful entry led to Medina pulling out a samurai sword that was kept next to the bedroom door and used this to stab his roommate in the abdomen. It isn't yet clear what the pair's argument was all about. The fight happened at a residence at the 38000 block of San Francisquito Canyon Road.
Medina himself called the cops after the incident and waited for them to arrive. Although Sutter was taken to a nearby hospital, he was eventually pronounced dead. Medina, who was booked for murdering his roommate at the Palmdale Sheriff's Station, is being held on $1 million bail. The former actor is due to appear in court in Lancaster on Tuesday, Feb. 3, the sheriff's online inmate records show.
Medina's big break came in 2002 when he starred as the Red Ranger on the TV series Power Rangers Wild Force. His most recent stint with the franchise was on Power Rangers Samurai. He also appeared albeit briefly on ER and CSI: Miami.
"He's been my friend and client for 12 years and he's a great guy," said Gar Lester, Medina's agent. "He's great to his dog, he's great to his people. He's really a superperson."
Power Rangers is highly criticized for its violent themes, given that it is targeted toward child audiences, but the franchise has managed to continue.
As of 2013, the show has already spun off two movies: the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie.
