A Dream Ends in a Stranger’s Blind Anger

Antero Medina was talking about starting his life over when he was randomly caught in the fatal cross-fire of a domestic dispute.

The Hemet man, a 42-year-old father of three who had been a dentist in his native Philippines, was hoping to resume the practice in his adopted homeland, relatives said Wednesday.

But that dream ended with two shotgun blasts Tuesday morning, when Medina, a lab-specimen carrier, was making a routine pickup at the Alpha Clinical Laboratory in the 8600 block of Knott Avenue.

He was shot to death by a despondent Buena Park man, Fernando Alacron, 40, who was looking for his estranged girlfriend, lab co-owner Fay Agdon, but found Medina instead, according to police.

“This guy was killed because he was trying to earn a living,” Police Lt. Tony Kelly said Wednesday. “He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. . . . Talk about a stroke of bad luck.”

Alacron committed suicide after holding police officers at bay inside Agdon’s house for 5 1/2 hours after the shooting.

Authorities didn’t identify Medina as the victim until Wednesday, and relatives were coping with disbelief.

“Antero didn’t know [Agdon],” said the victim’s older sister, Tessie Abarly. “It was his first time to this lab. He was here to make a pickup,” she added, staring at the bloodstains outside the office.

Medina, who immigrated to the United States in 1985 to join his five brothers and sisters, was a respected dentist in the Philippines, according to relatives.

While raising his three children, including a 20-year-old son who is a student at UC Riverside, Medina worked as a lab-specimen carrier and a phlebotomist as he studied for dental exams to earn a California license.

He had plans to open a private practice and was inquiring about office space as he talked with Agdon on Tuesday, co-workers said. Agdon later helped Medina set an appointment to meet with the owner of the medical complex, Jun Samson, that day.

“I was running 15 minutes late [for the appointment], and the next thing I knew, there was all this commotion,” Samson said. “One of my nurses was shouting someone got shot. When I came out of my department and went into the living room of the clinic, I saw everyone running outside. I looked through the glass door and saw the police running back and forth.”

According to police, Agdon and Medina were talking inside the lab before she briefly stepped out. While Medina was standing alone, Alacron walked into the office with a shotgun in his hands.

“[Alacron] entered the office and the only person there that he saw was Medina,” Kelly said.

Shortly after entering, Alacron pumped one round into Medina’s left shoulder and another into his abdomen, police said. He then raced out of the office and pointed the gun at Agdon when he saw her, Kelly said. She quickly ran and was unharmed. Alacron escaped.

Paramedics arrived and took Medina to UC Irvine Medical Center, where he died.

Meanwhile, Alacron was found at Agdon’s Anaheim home around noon, shortly after the shooting. He barricaded himself inside throughout the afternoon as police and the SWAT team worked to secure the neighborhood.

Around 5:30 p.m., an officer looked through a bedroom window and saw Alacron lying on Agdon’s bed. He had shot himself once in the chest with the shotgun, Anaheim Police Lt. Ted Labahn said.

Alacron and Agdon apparently had been together for more than five years, police said. At one time, the two lived together at Agdon’s home, along with her two children.

Neighbors and Agdon’s co-workers described the couple as quiet and kind people. For undetermined reasons, however, Alacron moved to a Buena Park home owned by relatives.

While police try to piece together what prompted the shooting, Agdon declined to comment Wednesday.

“They had separated about at least a week ago,” Kelly said. “They were going through a lot of emotional stress. They had a history of emotional bad times. But there are no records or history of battery or abuse, at least nothing that was reported.

“It’s not like [Alacron] had a big rap sheet,” Kelly added. “He just seemed like an average guy that flipped out.”