Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has charged 61-year-old Carlos Medina with one count of murder in the death of Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell.
Medina is the spouse of O'Connell's housekeeper. The motive for the murder is under investigation, according to officials.
"Charging Mr. Medina," Gascón said during a press conference, "will never repair the tremendous harm that was caused by this callous act, but it does take us one step closer to accountability."
According to the Los Angeles DA's office, O'Connell, 69, was found fatally shot "at a home in the 1500 block of Janlu Avenue in Hacienda Heights," California, on Saturday.
Authorities arrested Medina after a stand off with police at his Torrance home on Monday, 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
Witnesses say Medina acted strange and commented that the bishop owed him money.
"When he was interviewed," Det. Michael Modica told Fox News, "he said several different reasons and none of them made any sense to the investigators, so we don't believe there's any validity to the owing of money."
Medina's neighbors later told NBC4 that he was "friendly" and "nice," and expressed surprise at him being an accused killer.
The Los Angeles County jail is holding Medina on a $2 million bond. If convicted, Medina could face 35 years to life in prison.
During a Saturday Mass, Archbishop José H. Gomez broke the news of O'Connell's death to his congregation.
"Our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell," he said, "has passed away unexpectedly. It's a shock and I have no words to express my sadness. As a priest and later a bishop here in Los Angeles for 45 years, Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother. He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected."
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