Oscar Carrillo, 911 Caller in Kendrec McDade Police Shooting, Arrested for Lying to Cops
Updated at the bottom with AUDIO of the 911 call that led to Kendrec McDade's death. Plus, we talk to his family's attorney about the possible mishandling of this case by the Pasadena PD.
Kendrec McDade was killed by two cops last weekend.
It appears 19-year-old college student and former high-school football star Kendrec McDade really is the next Trayvon Martin.
Pasadena police announced today that a resident who called 911 on Saturday night -- to report that McDade and a 17-year-old accomplice were armed and trying to rob his vehicle -- was lying about the weapon. They've arrested him on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter.
The suspect's name is Oscar Carrillo, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
On the 911 call, Carrillo reportedly told police that the two young men had just stolen his backpack (with his laptop inside), that they were wearing black sweaters and that one was carrying a gun.
So the "hoodie" angle of the Trayvon Martin tragedy was present as well.
"The actions of 911 caller set the minds of officers," Pasadena Police Chief Philip Sanchez said at today's press conference.
Was it up to cops to investigate for themselves, or just take the word of Carrillo? The officer who first shot McDade did so from the driver's seat of his police vehicle, before an officer on foot opened fire as backup.
Kendrec McDade via Twitter The victim, right, with an Azusa High teammate.
The officers had been chasing him about three blocks, and later said they saw him reach for his waistband. That's when they riddled McDade with bullets.
L.A. civil rights leaders began to express outrage when -- after two days of exhaustive searching, via helicopters and bloudhounds -- no gun, nor laptop, was discovered at the scene of the police shooting.
Another shocking aspect to Carillo's call, via KPCC:
Police believe that Carrillo knew the two suspects. Carrillo said that he recognized them in part because they patronized the Pasadena business Carrillo works for.
Update: Even the Pasadena Police Department's own reports, as the investigation progressed, showed some inconsistencies -- apparently for the contradictory nature of Carrillo's original 911 story.
At first, detectives thought only one suspect had been armed. A day or so later, the police report indicated that both suspects had been armed.
Carrillo reportedly admitted to lying on the phone, leading to his arrest yesterday today.
"His brazen lie triggered a series of events that caused my client's son to be killed on the street like a dog, and we want justice," says the McDade family lawyer, Caree Harper, in the Pasadena Sun.
The attorney believes that Carrillo "knew that by saying black men robbed me in hoodies, it would trigger an expedited response from the police department, and he got just that."
Update: Many thanks to the Tribune for posting this audio of Carrillo's lethal call to police on Saturday night.
The teens "put a gun in my face," says Carrillo. He says he thinks he knows them.
Carrillo identifies his alleged attackers as "African-American" and says one has a gun. But a few seconds later, he changes his story and says they're both carrying guns. He starts cussing and getting really upset around 3:10 -- the call is bleeped out, so it's hard to hear his exact words. By the end, he has them dressed head-to-toe in black.
UP NEXT: Harper, the attorney for both McDade's family and his 17-year-old friend in jail, questions whether there was a robbery at all -- and why the 911 caller was arrested so long after police found out he lied.
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