Accused killer of former St. Raymond's pastor due for mental evaluation

A doubt was declared Thursday about the mental competency of the man accused of gunning down Los Angeles Catholic Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell at his home in Hacienda Heights last year.

Carlos Medina's attorney, Pedro Cortes, expressed concerns about his client's mental competency on the day a hearing was scheduled to begin to determine if there is sufficient evidence to allow the case to proceed to trial.

The now 64-year-old defendant's case is due back in court Oct. 31 at the Hollywood courthouse, where a mental competency evaluation is expected.

He is charged with the Feb. 18, 2023, killing of the 69-year-old man known as "Bishop Dave," along with an allegation that he personally used a firearm.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials confirmed the following day that his death was being investigated as a homicide.

Shortly after the killing, Sheriff Robert Luna said there were no signs of forced entry into O'Connell's home, and the bishop was shot in the bedroom of his home.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said O'Connell suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

The bishop's body was discovered when a deacon went to the home to check on him because O'Connell was apparently late for a meeting, the sheriff said.

Medina is the husband of O'Connell's housekeeper, and he also performed handyman work at the bishop's home, according to Luna.

The sheriff said tips from the public helped lead investigators to Medina, with one tipster saying that "Medina was acting strange, irrational and made comments about the bishop owing him money."

But Luna stopped short of saying such a dispute led to the killing, saying last year that it was "something that came up from one of the witnesses."

Sheriff's Lt. Michael Modica said last year that Medina made various statements after his arrest about a possible motive, but investigators found them to be largely nonsensical, leading them to believe there's no validity to the suggestion that a financial debt led to the killing.

Medina was arrested Feb. 20, 2023, after an hourslong standoff at his home in the 2400 block of Kenwood Avenue in Torrance. The sheriff said shortly after the shooting that two firearms were recovered at Medina's home, and they were being tested to determine if either weapon was involved in the shooting.

The sheriff 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.

Medina could face up to 35 years to life in state prison if convicted as charged, according to the district attorney.

O'Connell 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.

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 since 2015, when Pope Francis appointed him as an auxiliary bishop for the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

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.

Thousands of people were on hand March 3 at a funeral Mass for O'Connell at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, marking the end of three days of remembrances.

An exhibit honoring O'Connell's life and legacy was subsequently opened at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

O'Connell was born in County Cork, Ireland. He was ordained to serve in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1979, according to Doris Benavides, associate director of media relations for the archdiocese.

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.

O'Connell was honored in September 2022 with the Evangelii Gaudium Award from St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, "for his selfless service to the community and the Church in L.A," Benavides said.