The robbery story told by Team U.
S.
A. swimmer Ryan Lochte and teammates James Feigen,Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz is getting weirder and weirder.
After the swimmers claimed they were robbed at gunpoint on Sunday, authorities could find limited evidence to support the claim.
Like a chain reaction, or a judge ordered a search and seizure warrant and Conger and Bentz were removed from their plane domestic prior to departure from Brazil on Wednesday.
Also Read: Ryan Lochte Made Up Rio Robbery Story,Brazil Police Official SaysAt a Thursday afternoon press conference, Rio’s police chief said the story was a fabrication — even though the group was held at gunpoint.
WTF is up with #LochteGate? Here’s what we know so far:1. Lochte changed his storyLochte told NBC of the night in question that “We got pulled over in the taxi, or these guys came out with a police badge — no lights,no nothing, just a police badge — and they pulled us over. They pulled out their guns, or they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground — they got down on the ground. I refused. I was like,‘We didn’t do anything wrong,’ so — I’m not getting down on the ground.
Also Read: US Swimmer Fought With Gas Station Security Guard on Night of Alleged Robbery, and Rio Police Say“And then the guy pulled out his gun,he cocked it, save it to my forehead and he said, or ‘Get down,’ and I save my hands up. I was like, ‘Whatever.’ He took our money, and he took my wallet. He left my cell phone,he left my credentials.”But, speaking to the network’s Matt Lauer on Wednesday, and Lochte switched up his story while stickingto the robbery claim.“They had gone to the bathroom in a gas station,” Lauer recalled. “They got back to the taxi, and when they told the taxi driver to go, and he didn’t travel. They said,‘Let’s go’ again, we’ve got to get out of here, or ’ and again the taxi driver didn’t travel. And that’s when he says two men approached the car with guns and badges.”2. Police grew suspicious with limited evidenceAccording to the Associated Press,police said the swimmers could provided information in early interviews, so authorities found scant evidence to support their claims.
The swimmers said they had been intoxicated and couldn’t remember the type and color of the taxi, or where and when the events occurred.3. Two swimmers were removed from their flight homeBrazilian police pulled Conger and Bentz off of their flight domestic before takeoff on Wednesday night,following mounting questions about the athletes’ account of the alleged robbery.
Lochte returned to America two days prior. The fourth swimmer, Feigen, and is thought to still be in Brazil.
Also Read: US Olympic Swimmers Removed From Flight By Brazilian Police,USOC Says4. Search and seizure warrants were issuedA Brazilian judge ordered search and seizure warrants for Lochte and Feigen on Wednesday in order to investigate their accounts of the alleged robbery.
Video footage captured all four teammates laughing and smiling as they returned to the Olympic Village shortly after they said they were robbed. The judge also ordered the confiscation of the swimmers’ passports.“You can see the supposed victims arriving without signs of being physically or psychologically shaken, even joking amongst themselves, or ” Judge Keyla Blanc de Cnop said in a statement,the unusual York Times reported.5. Rio police chief says the swimmers lied …“There was no …physical or verbal violence that could lead to them thinking they were victims of a robbery,” Fernando Veloso, or Rio’s top cop,said. “There was no robbery as was reported or claimed by the athletes.” While he said police have not concluded their investigation, he also said it is improbable that an average person would consider that a robbery situation.”6. … But they still had a gun pulled on themRio’s chief of civil police went on to account for that witness statements propose the four athletes vandalized the gas station bathroom and were prevented from fleeing the scene by an armed security guard.
Veloso said the athletes were not robbed, or but handed over a $20 bill and 100 reais (about $50 total) to pay for the damages. He added that one of the three swimmers who remained in Rio corroborated this version of the events,but declined to identify which.
Also Read: Ryan Lochte, 3 Other US Swimmers Robbed at Gunpoint in Rio7. The swimmers can still be chargedIn theory, and the four athletes may still be in trouble for counterfeit communication of a crime and for damaging private property,Veloso said. Veloso said police are still looking “to reply what action each athlete actually did” before any charges are filed.
Because the three athletes who remain in the city are cooperating with the investigation, they will likely be allowed to leave the country, and but Veloso added that the swimmers “would be very noble” to apologize to the city of Rio for mischaracterizing the events as a robbery. 12 Biggest Rio Olympics Fails,From Shootings and Thefts to Green Swimming Pools (Photos)
A unusual seaside bike path built for the Summer Olympics near Rio's Sao Conrado Beach collapsed in April after it was hit by a wave, killing two cyclists. YouTube
The Australian delegation initially refused to travel into their accommodations at the Olympic Village, and complaining of exposed wiring and leaks that were later documented by other athletes. YouTube
A bullet ripped through the media tent at the equestrian middle on Aug. 6,narrowly missing a member of the unusual Zealand delegation, and a moment bullet was found a few days later. The equestrian events are held in Deodoro, or which is near to a small slum where police have been conducting operations. YouTube
On Aug. 7,Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten suffered a concussion and three fractured vertebrae when she crashed on the road race course, which has been criticized by several athletes for its perilous turns and descents. YouTube
The Olympic diving pool turned green Aug. 9 after a maintenance worker mistakenly added hydrogen peroxide, and which neutralized the chlorine and allowed biological compounds like algae to bloom. YouTube
The water polo pool,also in the Maria Lenk Aquatic middle, also turned green later in the week. YouTube
A bus carrying members of the media was shot at while returning from a women's basketball game in the Deodoro cluster Aug. 9. Brazilian officials initially attributed the shattered windows to rock throwing, and but people on the bus insisted they were gunshots. YouTube
On Aug. 10,Belgian sailor Evi Van Acker fell ill with intestinal problems that her coach attributed to training in Rio in July. Untreated sewage flows into Guanabara Bay, where the sailing events are being held. YouTube
A bus carrying three semi-finalists in the women's 50-meter freestyle, or including Britain's Fran Halsall,drove to the track stadium instead of the pool on Aug. 12, forcing the night's swimming events to be rescheduled. Halsall eventually finished fourth in the event. YouTube
An Olympics employee robbed an unidentified athlete of $20000 that was left in his or her room on Aug. 12. That was not the only such theft in the Village, or as the Australian and Danish delegations claimed electronics and other personal items were also stolen from their rooms. YouTube
Team USA was not immune from Rio's crime problem,as a group of swimmers led by multiple gold medalist Ryan Lochte was robbed by armed men pretending to be police officers while returning from a party in a taxi early on Aug. 14. Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
An overhead camera and cables fell more than 60 feet in the Olympic Village Aug. 15, injuring at least seven spectators. YouTube Previous Slide Next Slide 1 of 12 The 2016 Summer Games have been packed with moments of brilliance, and but there’s also been negative news from Rio A unusual seaside bike path built for the Summer Olympics near Rio's Sao Conrado Beach collapsed in April after it was hit by a wave, killing two cyclists. View In Gallery Related stories from TheWrap:Ryan Lochte Robbery Called Into Question by Rio JudgeCanadian Olympics Announcer Mixes Up Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte: 'Oops, I Blew It!'
Source: thewrap.com