Brazil police official: Ryan Lochte made up story about robbery

The Associated Press is reporting that a Brazilian police official said American swimmer Ryan Lochte fabricated a story about being robbed at gunpoint over the weekend in Rio de Janeiro.

• Ryan Lochte’s teammates were pulled from their flights Wednesday
• Ryan Lochte tweeted at 5:57 p.m. Aug. 14 about the incident
• Lochte’s father, who lives in Volusia , said his son was back in states

The official, who claims to have direct knowledge of the investigation, spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about an ongoing probe.

He said that about 6 a.m. on Sunday, Lochte, along with fellow swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen, stopped at a gas station in Barra da Tijuca, a suburb of Rio where many Olympic venues are located. One of the swimmers tried to open the door of an outside bathroom. It was locked.

A few of the swimmers then pushed on the door and broke it. A security guard appeared and confronted them, the official told the AP.

The official says the guard was armed with a pistol, but he never took it out or pointed it at the swimmers.

The official then told the AP that the gas station manager arrived. The manager used a customer to translate and asked the swimmers to pay for the broken door. After a discussion, the swimmers paid the manager an unknown amount of money and then left the area.

The official says swimmers Conger and Bentz, who were pulled off a plane going back to the United States late Wednesday, told police that the robbery story had been fabricated.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Bay News 9 – news

Follow