Kevin Medinger
By MAIRE O’NEILL
Los Alamos Daily Post
Los Alamos police arrested Kevin Medinger, 32, Thursday morning and charged him with five felony counts in connection with the theft of a firearm and cash from a local residence.
According to documents filed in Los Alamos Magistrate Court, the case was originally opened by Cpl. David Boe after he received a report that a Smith & Wesson .38 special revolver was missing from an Orange Street residence where Medinger did odd jobs for the victim. The victim reported that the firearm, which he had owned for 40 years and kept in his sock drawer, was missing as well as some $600 in $50 bills from a box he kept in his living room for incidental expenses.
Cpl. Boe’s report said the victim suspected Medinger of taking the cash and possibly the firearm, that Medinger had been in the room with him when he took cash from the box to pay him and that within the next couple of days the remaining money went missing from the box. The report said the victim had loaned Medinger some $1,000 during the previous year to help him pay expenses for his sick son.
Det. Ryan Wolking attempted to make contact with Medinger for several weeks and finally reached him Jan. 11 and advised him he needed to talk to him about “the gun situation” from the victim’s house. Wolking’s report says Medinger never denied anything and agreed to go to the police station.
In a subsequent phone call, Medinger told Wolking he entered the victim’s residence through the unlocked front door, took the gun and gave it to a friend who pawned it for him in Albuquerque. Wolking retrieved the gun from the pawn shop Jan.16. Although he admitted to the firearm theft, Medinger denied the theft of the $600 cash.
While investigating the case, Wolking found out that Medinger was on probation on felony fraud convictions from Bernalillo County and had an outstanding traffic warrant from Los Alamos Magistrate Court.
Medinger is charged with aggravated burglary (armed after entering), larceny of a firearm $500-$2,500, larceny over $500-$2,500 ($600 cash), receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm by a felon.
