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Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, left, speaks to reporters alongside LA County Sheriff Robert Luna. | Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
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The husband of a housekeeper who worked for Archdiocese of Los Angeles Catholic Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell was arrested Monday in connection with the bishop’s shooting death at his home in Hacienda Heights.
Carlos Medina, 65, was arrested Monday morning following an hours-long standoff at Medina’s home in the 2400 block of Kenwood Avenue in Torrance, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. Two firearms were recovered at Medina’s home, and they will be tested to determine if either weapon was involved in the Saturday shooting, Luna added.
Although the motive for the crime remained uncertain, Luna said a tipster reported that “Medina was acting strange, irrational and made comments about the bishop owing him money.” But the sheriff stopped short of saying such a dispute led to the killing, saying it was “something that came up from one of the witnesses,” but investigators were still conducting interviews.
Tipsters told the sheriff’s department that Medina had left his residence and gone to central California. Then tipsters alerted the LASD that Medina was back at his residence, sparking the overnight standoff that ended with his arrest at around 8:15 a.m.
Luna said Medina’s wife was being questioned and has been “fully cooperative” with detectives.
Luna said that while Medina was the husband of the bishop’s housekeeper, Medina himself had also “previously done work at the bishop’s residence,” although it was unclear when. Luna said Medina drove a dark-colored compact SUV similar to one seen on surveillance video pulling into O’Connell’s driveway and leaving, although it was unsure when that occurred.
Luis Lopez was a neighbor of Medina’s and told ABC7 that Medina seemed like a good man and “looked like he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
O’Connell, 69, was a native of Ireland and had been a priest and later a bishop in Los Angeles for 45 years, Archbishop José Gomez said in a statement released following his death.
“He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected,” Gomez said.
O’Connell was found shot just before 1 p.m. Saturday at a home in the 1500 block of Janlu Avenue, near Turnbull Canyon Road. Sheriff’s officials confirmed Sunday that his death was being investigated as a homicide. Luna said it was still being determined exactly when O’Connell was shot.
Luna said there were no signs of forced entry into O’Connell’s home, and that the auxiliary bishop had at least one gunshot wound to the upper body. He was shot in the bedroom of his home, the sheriff said.
The bishop’s body was discovered after a deacon went to the home to check on him, because O’Connell was apparently late for a meeting, Luna said.
Meanwhile, many people continued to mourn O’Connell on Monday.
“An unimaginable and tragic loss of a peacemaker,” Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore tweeted. “My God welcome Bishop O’Connell home, a good and faithful servant. We all mourn this man’s loss and am grateful to the sheriff’s department for their relentless pursuit and the community’s assistance to identify the individual responsible.”
State Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-Norwalk, said O’Connell was a friend of his, and offered condolences from Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state officials at a Monday afternoon news briefing with reporters.
“He served the community and went to Salesian High School in East Los Angeles to bring people together and move forward,” Archuleta said.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn told reporters that O’Connell’s death has “left me and other people from here to Ireland heartbroken. He was known to walk among gang members, the homeless and transients to bring peace to them.”
Gomez was overcome with emotion at Monday’s news conference as he discussed the death of his friend and colleague, calling him “a good friend to all of Los Angeles.”
“He worked to show compassion to the poor, to the homeless, to the immigrant, to all those living on society’s margins,” Gomez said. “He was a good priest and good bishop, and a man of peace.”
At the time of his death, O’Connell — widely known as “Bishop Dave” — was vicar for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ San Gabriel Pastoral Region, a post he had held since 2015 when Pope Francis appointed him as an auxiliary bishop for the Los Angeles Archdiocese. He was particularly known for his work on behalf of the poor and to combat violence.
O’Connell had previously served as associate pastor at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Downey, St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Long Beach, and St. Hilary Church of Perpetual Adoration in Pico Rivera and then as pastor of St. Frances X. Cabrini, Ascension, St. Eugene and St. Michael’s parishes, all in Los Angeles.
O’Connell was born in County Cork, Ireland. He studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained to serve in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1979, according to Doris Benavides, associate director of media relations for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
As chairman of the interdiocesan Southern California Immigration Task Force, O’Connell helped coordinate the church’s response to immigrant children and families from Central America in recent years. He also sponsored the enrollment of several young immigrants in Catholic schools, a number of whom have advanced to college.
He served as a member of the Priest Pension Board and on the Together in Mission Board as well as the Archdiocesan Finance Council, the archdiocese said. He was a member of the Council of Priests and a Knight of Peter Claver.
At the national level, he was chairman of the Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In September, O’Connell was honored with the Evangelii Gaudium Award from St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, “for his selfless service to the community and the Church in LA,” Benavides said.
A gathering of mourners held candles and stood near the intersection of Janlu and Los Robles avenues Saturday night and prayed the rosary in his memory. A memorial was continuing to grow outside his home Monday.
The sheriff’s Homicide Bureau urged anyone with information regarding the shooting to call them at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477. Tipsters can also use a smartphone by downloading the “P3 Tips” Mobile app on Google Play or the Apple App Store or by using the website lacrimestoppers.org.
