Fake 911 Caller in McDade Shooting Due in Court

Oscar Carrillo, the 911 caller who falsely claimed that he was robbed at gunpoint on March 24, 2012, when Pasadena police fatally shot a 19-year-old unarmed backpack theft suspect, is due in court Tuesday to face misdemeanor charges that he lied to emergency dispatchers.

Carrillo, 27, is charged with one count of making a false report of a criminal offense and second count of reporting an emergency knowing the report was false, a Pasadena city spokesperson told the Pasadena Sun.

Andres Bustamante, Carrillo’s defense attorney, told the Sun, that Carrillo faces a maximum of 18 months in jail.

Carrillo, who has already pleaded not guilty to the charges, is scheduled to return to court on March 26 for a pretrial hearing, the newspaper reported.

The Pasadena Sun reported that the city’s prosecutors filed the charges after the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined a request by the Pasadena Police Department to charge Carrillo with manslaughter.

Police said the two officers believed 19-year-old Kendrec McDade had a weapon the night of March 24, 2012, because Carrillo, who reported the backpack theft falsely, told a 911 dispatcher he had been robbed by armed assailants on Orange Grove Boulevard at Summit Avenue.

Carrillo later recanted his earlier statements and admitted that he never saw a gun, but lied to the 911 operator because he was mad and believed that the police would respond more quickly if they believed a gun was involved.

Patrol Officers Jeffrey Newlen and Matthew Griffin responded to the scene and located McDade at Fair Oaks Avenue and Orange Grove Blvd. An officer involved shooting occurred, following a foot pursuit and confrontation with McDade. He later died from his injuries, according to a statement from the Pasadena Police Department.

The fatal shooting of the teenager by the two Pasadena police officers was lawful and within departmental policy, according to a statement released by the Pasadena Police Department on Thursday.