Authorities Say That Los Angeles County Deputy Who Said He Was Shot by Sniper Made Up Story – Officer

LANCASTER, California — A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy falsely claimed that he was shot by a sniper in Lancaster last week and will now be the subject of a criminal investigation, officials said late Saturday.

“The reported sniper assault was fabricated by our deputy,” Assistant Sheriff Robin Limon said at an unusual 11 p.m. news conference at the department’s downtown headquarters.

Deputy Angel Reinosa claimed he was struck in the chest about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday as he walked to his car in the employee parking lot at the sheriff’s Lancaster station, authorities said. At the time investigators believed that Reinosa’s bulletproof vest saved his life but that a bullet grazed his shoulder.

But much of the deputy’s statement “was self-serving and didn’t make a whole lot of sense,” said Sheriff’s Capt. Kent Wegener. No bullets were recovered from the scene.

“There were many things that didn’t add up,” Wegener said.

Though Reinosa was initially taken to the hospital for treatment, detectives said they later saw “no visible injuries,” Wegener said.

Reinosa eventually admitted that “he was not shot as previously claimed,” Wegener said. The deputy said he used a knife to cut the two holes in his shirt.

Reinosa failed to provide an explanation for his motive for fabricating the story about the shooting, Wegener said.

Reinosa has been with the Sheriff’s Department for a year and joined the Lancaster station in May for patrol training.

On Wednesday, the deputy made a radio call from the helipad at the sheriff’s station’s parking lot and reported that two shots had been fired at him from a nearby apartment building, authorities said. Reinosa managed to make it back to the station and get medical help.

The incident prompted a massive manhunt for the suspected gunman.

The case will be turned over to the Los Angeles County district attorney, and Reinosa will probably face charges for filing a false report about a crime, he said.

The incident drew a massive police presence, with a SWAT team and armored vehicles responding to the area. Deputies blocked off an apartment building and believed the shooter was trapped inside.

Sheriff’s officials spent hours overnight searching the apartment building. 

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