CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — Neighborhood reaction to former Corpus Christi mayoral candidate John Medina’s arrest for suspicion of arson was mixed, with most saying they weren’t surprised.
Medina was arrested Tuesday for the fire that happened at Medina’s home on Mokry Dr. November 3.
“I guess I’m not surprised, I never would have suspected him of anything like that,” said neighbor Jose Gutierrez.
Gutierrez has lived across the street from Medina since last summer, and has known him a little longer than that. He said he’s never had a bad experience with Medina.
“All my interactions have been good with this guy, I have nothing bad to say about any of my encounters with him,” said Gutierrez.
Not everyone had the same positive stories to share.
“I’ve known this man for years,” said William McGee. “This house has been in my family for 45 years, I was raised here. My grandpa always had problems with this man.”
McGee lives next door. He admits his family’s relationship with Medina is far from perfect, but McGee said that when Medina arrived at the scene the morning of the fire, Medina accused McGee of starting the fire.
“Just pointing fingers saying you did it, I did it,” said McGee. “FBI came over here. I do carpet cleaning, and they searched my van, but all I had in there was soap, nothing in there to accelerate it.”
Medina runs the independent news site “Corpus Christi News Now”. An editorial on the site called Medina’s arrest “retaliation by a bias(ed) and rotten power structure”. It also says Medina missed a polygraph appointment with police.
A quote from Medina reads "I plainly forgot about the scheduled appointment and in retrospect I feel I had already given them more than enough information to work with."
Meanwhile, McGgee said he’s not surprised Medina is in hot water.
“I just live here, I respect everybody, but the things he’s put me through in the last few months is bizarre,” said McGee.
McGee said he heard Medina say he left the house at 6:03 a.m. the morning of the fire, which McGee reported at 6:15. McGee said his home security cameras showed nobody leaving the house at 6:03. He’s turned that video over to investigators as evidence.
