CMPD officer arrested, released from jail twice in one month
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Joel Medina was arrested twice in less than a month—the first time for sextortion and the second time for crimes against another officer.
Both times judges let him out of jail.
The details in the warrant accuse Officer Medina of slashing the tires on another officer's patrol car and that officer's personal car.
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The arrest warrant indicates Medina sought out his fellow officer and was caught on camera outside the officer's home last week.
An investigator says Medina slashed two tires on the officer's personal vehicle and one tire on his CMPD patrol car.
When the officer contacted Medina, the warrant said he admitted to his fellow officer that he slashed his tires on both cars and even told the officer he'd pay for the damage to avoid getting CMPD involved.
"He's not thinking rationally and then to think another officer is going to say, 'Yeah, let's forget it, you engaged in this violent behavior, destroyed my property and the police department's property,' would be quite some explanation. It's just irrational thinking, a man spiraling down," said Michael Tabman, a former FBI special agent-in-charge.
Earlier this month, Medina was arrested for felony extortion and felony disclosure of private images.
A 22-year-old man claims that Medina communicated with him through social media and tried to get him to pay $10,000 so that Medina would not release explicit photos and videos of the victim to the victim's friends and family.
In that case, a judge let Medina out of jail on a written promise that he agreed to show up for court.
And even though Medina was arrested again, twice in the last month, this latest time court records show District Judge Fritz Mercer let him out on a $1,000 unsecured bond.
"I think it was a bad decision to release him, I don't think he's a flight risk, but I do think he's a danger to society now that he engaged in such behavior and by letting him go, he might feel I'm getting away with this, I'm going to keep doing this and I'm going to keep getting out," said Tabman.
Queen City News reached out to CMPD about the new charges against Medina and received the following statement from Chief Johnny Jennings late Wednesday afternoon.
"I am disheartened by the recent arrest of Officer Medina. An officer's arrest is not just a personal failure but a breach of public trust. The trust of our community is paramount, and we will not tolerate any conduct that undermines that trust. I'm proud of the diligent and thorough work by our detectives who investigated this case. Our badge gives us the authority to enforce the law, not immunity from the law. This arrest is a necessary step to ensure accountability and uphold the integrity of our department."
CMPD's Internal Affairs unit is conducting investigations separate from the criminal investigations into both of Medina's arrests.
Medina remains on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of those investigations.
