Ricardo Medina Jr. (often referred to as Rick Medina) is an American former actor. He is best known for his role as Cole Evans, the Red Wild Force Ranger on the TV series ''

Power Rangers Wild Force ''Power Rangers Wild Force'' is a television series and the tenth season of Power Rangers. It is also the anniversary season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 25th Super Sentai series ''Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger'', which itself w ...

'', and later as Deker, the half-human cursed Nighlok in ''

Power Rangers Samurai ''Power Rangers Samurai'' is the eighteenth season of the children's television series ''Power Rangers'', which is based on the Japanese ''Super Sentai Series''. The season was the first to be produced by SCG Power Rangers, after Saban Brands ( ...

''. He was in prison for over three years for the

voluntary manslaughter Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender acted during ''the heat of passion'', under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed to the point that they cannot ...

of his roommate.

Early life

Ricardo Medina Jr. was born in

Kern County, California Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County comprise ...

, and raised in

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. It is also the home of ...

. He is of Puerto Rican descent.

Filmography

Killing of Joshua Sutter and conviction

On February 1, 2015, Medina was arrested after he allegedly stabbed to death his 38-year-old roommate, Joshua Sutter, on January 31. Sutter had been stabbed in the abdomen with a medieval "Conan the Barbarian" sword at a home in Green Valley, west of

Palmdale, California Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Aug ...

. Medina called emergency services, and Sutter was pronounced dead upon arrival at a hospital. Medina was initially held on $1 million bail, but no charges were filed against him from the district attorney due to requests on further investigation so he was released on February 3, 2015. Medina claimed that he stabbed Sutter in self-defense after Sutter forced open the door of Medina's bedroom, into which Medina and his girlfriend had retreated after an argument between Medina and Sutter. Medina had lived in the home in Green Valley for approximately two months. On January 14, 2016, he was arrested again on murder charges in connection with Sutter's death. At that time, Medina faced a possible sentence of life imprisonment with a chance of parole after 26 years with prosecutors planning to ask that Medina be held on $1 million bail. On March 16, 2017, Medina pled guilty to one felony count of

. On March 30, 2017, Medina was sentenced to the maximum 6 years in prison. As of 2020 Medina Jr. has been released from prison as revealed in an interview with

Jack Guzman ''Power Rangers Wild Force'' is the 2002 Power Rangers season that tells the story of the Wild Force Power Rangers and their fight against the Orgs. Wild Force Power Rangers The Wild Force Rangers are granted mystical powers and charged to prot ...

References

External links

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TV.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medina, Ricardo Jr. 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American criminals American people of Puerto Rican descent American male film actors American male television actors Place of birth missing (living people) American people convicted of manslaughter People from Kern County, California Hispanic and Latino American male actors Living people Male actors from Los Angeles Participants in American reality television series People from Downey, California American prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of California Year of birth missing (living people)