Movie fans with a fondness for nostalgia have been going gaga in recent months as we near the big screen premiere for the mightiest of morphing heroes, the Power Rangers. Things aren't nearly as exciting for a former franchise star, however, as one-time Red Ranger Ricardo Medina pleaded guilty to the murder of Josh Sutter, his ex-roommate. Luckily for him, his jail time won't be anywhere near as harsh as it could have been, but it's still a crappy situation for everyone involved.
The killing in question came over two years ago, and it was just Thursday that Power Rangers Wild Force actor Ricardo Medina entered his plea to the Los Angeles courts. According to Deadline, the L.A. County District Attorney's office reported Medina chose a lesser (and accepted) plea of "One felony count of voluntary manslaughter and admitted an allegation of using a sword in the killing." This could net him a maximum of six years behind bars, which kind of sounds low considering the circumstances, but I'm definitely not part of the sentencing process, which is set to go down on March 30.
The crime in question happened back on January 31, 2015, inside the L.A. apartment the two men shared. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the argument was about a woman, Ricardo Medina's ex-girlfriend, and as the tiff got taken to extremes, the Power Rangers actor grabbed a sword and chased Josh Sutter around, apparently stabbing him the entire time. Sutter died not long afterward, and Medina was arrested that day. However, the case was initially rejected so that further investigation could be handled, and Media was soon released from jail the next month, publicly apologizing for what he did.
But apologies did not fix everything, obviously, as Ricardo Medina is currently facing six years or less. Back when he was first arrested, and then again last year when the case was under review again, he was looking at a potential lifetime in jail for his deadly actions. Sometimes tells me he won't be playing with swords for a long time, regardless of what the sentencing is.
Ricardo Medina starred in Power Rangers Wild Force back in 2002 as Red Lion Cole Evans, a role he took on for 40 episodes, as well as a TV special. With appearances in other shows such as ER and CSI: Miami, Medina jumped back into the Power Rangers franchise in 2012 with a voice role as the villainous Deker on Power Rangers Samurai, and that gig was both for the TV show and the tie-in video games. Dont't expect to see him in the upcoming Power Rangers feature, though, as he might not even get around to watching it for a while.
