CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Former mayoral candidate John Medina is out of jail after he posted bond.
Medina was released about 6 p.m. Wednesday.
An arrest report requested by KRIS 6 News states Medina is charged with felony arson. His bond is $75,000.
"The case that was being investigated was an arson case, and that was what, I believe, he was arrested for," said Nueces County District Attorney Mark A. Gonzalez. "That stemmed from . . . Election Day."
He was arrested at around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at his home in the 4900 block of Mokry Street in connection with a fire inside his home that occurred on Nov. 3.
According to the report, Medina was arrested as he pulled into his driveway on Mokry and had a "large amount of cash," so he was transported to a nearby police substation so officers could count the cash, which turned out to be almost $49,000.
KRIS 6 News has learned that the Nueces County District Attorney's office signed off on the arrest warrant for Medina. Gonzalez said Wednesday, that in investigations such as this one, his office is usually involved from the start.
"We're always in contact with law-enforcement agencies," Gonzalez said. "Our office has been involved from the onset, and yesterday, was when the warrant was actually executed for his arrest."
Gonzalez said his office is awaiting the full report, seeing as how it was an inter-agency investigation between the Texas Rangers, the Corpus Christi Fire Department, the Corpus Christi Police Department and his office.
"I can tell you the community ultimately would decide this case," he said, "and when you recklessly or intentionally burn somebody's house down, I think the community will hold that against the individual or defendant or the suspect or the accused."
And despite the toll COVID-19 has taken on local government, he expects there to be a resolution to the case.
"The wheels of justice currently are moving a little bit slower because of COVID, but they're still moving," he said.
Multimedia journalist Trevier Gonzalez contributed to this report.
