“The three U.S. Olympic swimmers (Bentz, Conger and Feigen) are cooperating with authorities and in the process of scheduling a time and place today to provide further statements to the Brazilian authorities”.
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This has the potential to be a huge public relations nightmare for either side. Such a trip during early morning hours would take 30 to 40 minutes.
The reports surfaced in response to Brazilian authorities’ efforts to prevent Lochte and the other three swimmers – Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz – from returning to the States while the investigation into the matter was ongoing.
The gas station owner told Rio de Janeiro’s O Globo newspaper that the swimmers vandalized his facility and urinated on it. CNN has been unable to authenticate the video, which was obtained by the Daily Mail.
Lochte originally told TODAY show co-host Billy Bush on August 14 that he was in a cab with some other swimmers, and the vehicle was pulled over by armed robbers posing as cops.
The Shell service station is close to the Olympic Park where sporting action has been overshadowed over the past two weeks by a string of muggings and robberies, including incidents involving other athletes and two visiting government ministers.
Lochte initially told NBC that a man pointed a gun to his forehead when the four swimmers were in a taxi that was pulled over by men with badges. The US Olympic Committee corroborated that account. Police are now recommending charges to Lochte and Feigen for reporting a crime.
Lochte’s father told The Associated Press by phone from his Florida home that his son called him Tuesday after arriving in the United States.
After Conger and Bentz were pulled off a plane by Brazilian police on August 17, the two reportedly told law enforcement that the robbery story was fake. “Once they were calm, the gun was lowered”.
Brazilian authorities confirmed the report to ABC. The swimmers did not speak to reporters as they left the airport and were shuttled away in a black vehicle waiting outside.
An attorney for Lochte, Jeff Ostrow, said he couldn’t pin down the timing, but said it was around 5 or 6 a.m.
Judge Kayla Blank cited a statement made by Lochte and Feigen to police where they claimed they were picked up by a cab at a gas station near Club France.
What happened next should give Lochte and his pals pause. “They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground”.
They and two team mates, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, were involved in the incident at a Rio gas station where Lochte said they had been robbed at gunpoint – a version that was denounced on Thursday by Rio de Janeiro’s police chief. Police haven’t been able to locate the taxi driver.
As more information comes out about this reported robbery, the swimmers’ story seems a little fishy.
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The publicity surrounding the case prompted a local judge to order all 4 of the athletes to remain in Brazil until the incident was sorted out.
