Written by Dan Good at New York Daily News.com
Ryan Lochte and his U.S. swimming teammates lied about a gunpoint robbery in order to cover up an incident at a gas station bathroom — and used cash to pay for damages, according to Brazilian police officials.
Lochte, along with fellow swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz, and Jimmy Feigen, stopped at a gas station in the Rio suburb of Barra da Tijuca at about 6 a.m. Sunday, the official told the Associated Press.
One of the swimmers tried to open the door of an outside bathroom – and after finding it locked, the swimmers allegedly pushed on the door and broke it.
An armed security guard confronted the swimmers, and a fight ensued, ABC News reports.
The guard’s gun was never used, and the swimmers ended up paying cash to cover the damages caused at the gas station before leaving, officials said.
While Lochte has returned to the United States ahead of a judge ordering that his passport be seized, the three other swimmers — Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen — planned to meet with Brazilian law enforcement Thursday.
Bentz and Conger have been released by local authorities after being pulled off a plane at Rio’s airport, with the understanding that discussions would continue. Conger and Bentz told police that the robbery story had been fabricated, the Associated Press reports.
Feigen also plans to talk to officials, USOC spokesperson Patrick Sandusky said.
Lochte was seen with girlfriend Kayla Reid Wednesday, not long after a Brazilian judge ordered his and other U.S. swimmers’ passports seized as authorities investigated their claims that they were held up at gunpoint.
Filing a false police report in Brazil is punishable by up to six months in detention or a fine.
The 12-time Olympic medalist defended his teammates in a Wednesday interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer, claiming that the robbery occurred amid growing speculation about the fateful night.
Lochte initially said that armed men approached the swimmers’ taxi — and that one of the men pointed a gun to his head. He later backtracked on some of those harrowing details, but remained adamant that the swimmers had been robbed.
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