'Power Rangers' actor charged with stabbing murder of roommate

[January 15, 2016]  By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former actor in the "Power Rangers" children's television series accused of stabbing a roommate to death with a sword nearly a year ago has been charged with murder, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Ricardo Medina, 36, is charged with stabbing Josh Sutter multiple times with the sword during a Jan. 31, 2015 argument over the actor's girlfriend, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said in a written statement.

Medina was arrested at the time of Sutter's death but released from jail within days after prosecutors asked for further investigation in the high-profile case.

A spokeswoman for Los Angeles prosecutors declined to say what additional evidence against Medina had been uncovered during the past year.

"We're not going to try the case in the media before he's even been to court," district attorney's spokeswoman Jane Robison said.

Medina, who faces up to 26 years in prison if he is convicted at trial, was expected to be arraigned on the charges at an initial court appearance on Tuesday. Prosecutors said they would ask at that hearing that he be held on $1 million bail.

Medina played the Red Lion Wild Force Ranger on the popular "Power Rangers Wild Force" children's television series.

He also voiced the character of Deker on a later series, "Power Rangers Samurai," which, like "Power Rangers Wild Force," was a rebranded version the 1990s series "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," and appeared on such prime-time shows as "CSI: Miami" and "ER."

According to an account provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department following the incident, Medina and Sutter got into an argument over the actor's girlfriend at the apartment they shared in Palmdale, north of Los Angeles.

Medina retreated to his bedroom with his girlfriend during the argument and when Sutter forced open the door, Medina stabbed him in the stomach, according to the sheriff's department.

Following the fatal confrontation Medina called the 911 emergency number and remained at the scene until sheriff's deputies arrived.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Alan Crosby)

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.