Murder Suspect Is Wounded in Knife Attack at County Jail
A former convict accused of murdering four young clerks during a string of convenience-store and gas-station holdups in 1984 was attacked and stabbed numerous times Sunday morning by another inmate at the Orange County Jail.
Teofilio Medina Jr., 42, was reported in stable condition at UCI Medical Center. He has been charged in the killings of the four men during robberies of all-night service stations and stores in Orange and Riverside counties in October and November, 1984. He has also been accused of kidnaping and rape.
Just two months before the robberies and killings started, Medina had been paroled after serving seven years in an Arizona penitentiary for kidnap and rape. Before that, he spent five years in San Quentin prison for firing a shotgun in a restaurant.
Deputies said Medina was attacked about 7:20 a.m. by Nepo Mataiumu, 18, of Santa Ana, who was in jail facing charges of robbery, auto theft and assault on a police officer.
Medina was treated for his wounds by paramedics and then transferred to the Medical Center jail ward.
Authorities said they have no motive for the stabbing, which is being investigated by the district attorney’s office.
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