UNITED STATES
A Deputy Sheriff in Los Angeles County who allegedly faked being shot by a sniper has been sacked.
Angel Reinosa, a probationary employee who had been with the Sheriff’s Department for about a year, became the subject of a criminal investigation after he said he was shot by a sniper outside the Sheriff’s Lancaster Station — a claim that officials said he later admitted was untrue.
Mr Reinosa (21), initially told investigators that he had been on his way to his car in the station’s parking lot when he was hit by rifle fire from a nearby apartment building.
He claimed the protective vest he was wearing stopped a shot to his chest, while another bullet had grazed his shoulder.
When Sheriff Alex Villanueva (pictured) visited Mr Reinosa at the hospital, the Deputy had what appeared to be a contusion on his shoulder that was red and covered with a bandage.
Sheriff Villanueva said it did not appear to be a bullet wound and the situation “seemed odd”.
Even so, the incident sparked a massive response from law enforcement officials,who spent days searching for the phantom gunman.
Investigators noted there had been no 911 calls reporting gunfire in the area and no bullets were found in the parking lot.
A hole in his shirt that Mr Reinosa said came from a bullet was far too large.
When radioing for help, Mr Reinosa sounded too calm for someone who had just been shot.
Those early suspicions were borne out when investigators announcedMr Reinosa had concocted the shooting.
Sheriff Villanueva said the Department was “appalled and disappointed”.
Mr Reinosa’s motive for faking an assassination attempt remains unknown.
Los Angeles, 29 August 2019
