THE DALLES, OR (KPTV) -
Police arrested a man in The Dalles on Thursday on charges he killed his best friend in the parking lot of a Fred Meyer store.
Carlos Medina, 20, was taken into custody after a four-day search. With an attorney by his side, Medina turned himself in at about 5 p.m. Thursday to face a charge of manslaughter.
Medina's childhood friend, Mark Labonte, was found dead Sunday night. Detectives told the family Labonte was hit so hard in the back of the head that his neck snapped, killing him instantly.
"He used to tell me, ‘You know mom, you have to forgive everybody no matter what they do because there's always something good somewhere inside somebody,'" Labonte's mother, Billie Smith, said. "That's what's given me the strength to get through this."
At 6'4" tall, Labonte was described by his mother as a gentle giant, fond of boating on the Columbia River and always delicate when holding his nieces and nephews.
But with his friends, she said Labonte could play rough.
"All the time they would rough house…like brothers do," she said.
The events leading up to Labonte's death Sunday night are unclear. The two men were heading home from a neighborhood restaurant when they got into a fight. Police said Medina struck Labonte in the back of the head.
Smith said she's not surprised the boys were fighting.
"What was surprising was that he hit him and then left him to die in this parking lot," Smith said.
Smith said the next four days were excruciating. Police put a warrant out for Medina's arrest and the family begged him to come forward.
On Thursday, Medina was arrested and charged with manslaughter.
"I didn't think it would happen this fast but now I can actually lay my son to rest because peace will be with him now," Smith said.
Wasco County district attorney Eric Nisley said detectives worked around the clock to investigate Labonte's killing, which was the second homicide in a matter of weeks in The Dalles.
"It is unprecedented to have two unrelated homicides in such short order," he said. "Chief (Jay) Waterbury made the decision that both cases must be worked, and worked hard."
The murder of Scott Erlenbush remains unsolved.
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Carlos Medina
Mark Labonte
