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Former Los Angeles Unified School District police officer Jeffrey Stenroos, the guy who faked being shot outside a Valley high school and caused a lengthy and fruitless manhunt, will only face a judge later this month when his case goes to trial. His attorney told the court today that his client was waiving his right to a jury trial. Stenroos faces multiple felony counts, including filing a false police report, perjury, and filing a false insurance claim.
If you recall, Stenroos claimed he'd been shot by a perp outside El Camino Real High School. During the course of the search following the reported shooting, El Camino Real High School, as well as other local schools, were placed on lockdown, and the neighborhood cordoned off.
Stenroos took what eventually became known as a "hoax" as far as to provide LAPD with details for a sketch of the imaginary suspect. A $100,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. During the investigation Stenroos eventually said his gun "accidentally went off."
The "hoax" wound up costing the city and the LAUSD over $400,000, and the LAPD a heckuva lot of time better spent chasing real criminals.
Stenroos' trial is set to start on August 26th.
