Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office arrested a former deputy accused of fabricating a story that he was shot by a sniper last year.

Officers arrested Angel Reinosa on Thursday on three counts, including filing a false police report, a misdemeanor, and two counts of insurance fraud related to a workers' compensation claim, a felony.


The sheriff's office's Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau arrested Reinosa during a traffic stop in Sylmar. He was released from Los Angeles County Jail on bond Friday.

The sheriff's office fired Reinosa in August after officials determined the 21-year-old trainee lied when he reported that he was shot by a sniper as he walked to his vehicle at the sheriff's station in Lancaster. His report prompted a manhunt for a shooter.

"He also told investigators he had caused the holes in his uniform by cutting it. There was no sniper, no shots fired and no gunshot injury sustained to his shoulder," Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.

Law enforcement officials told KNBC-TV in Los Angeles that Reinosa had received a poor work evaluation and had been restricted to working inside the sheriff's station in the hours before he made the false report.

"Two felonies and a misdemeanor are a sad ending to a promising career," Villanueva said Thursday. "We have an ethical standard for every employee, one that I will always maintain in order to earn the public's trust."