L.A. County deputy lied about being shot, officials say

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles County deputy lied when he said he was shot in the shoulder while standing in a sheriff ’s station parking lot last week and will face a criminal investigation, authorities said.

“The reported sniper assault was fabricated” by Deputy Angel Reinosa, Assistant Sheriff Robin Limon said Saturday.

Reinosa, 21, made a frantic radio call Wednesday claiming that he had been shot by someone in a nearby building as he walked to his car outside the Lancaster station, prompting a huge police response to search for the shooter.

At the time, investigators believed Reinosa’s bulletproof vest saved his life but that a bullet grazed him. A department statement the next day said a single round hit the top of Reinosa’s shoulder, damaging his uniform but failing to penetrate his flesh.

But no bullets were recovered from the scene and detectives saw “no visible injuries,” Capt. Kent Wegener said.

Much of the deputy’s statement “didn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Wegener said. “There were many things that didn’t add up.”

Reinosa eventually admitted that he had made up the story and used a knife to cut the two holes in his shirt, Wegener said.

Reinosa has been relieved of his duties and could face charges for filing a false report, officials said. He didn’t explain his motive, Wegener said.

Reinosa had been with the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department for a year and joined the Lancaster station in May.

Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris told the Los Angeles Times he had been informed that Reinosa had been struggling in his first year in the field — a probationary period that must be completed before trainees become full-fledged deputies. Officials wouldn’t immediately confirm that account.