Jimmy Feigen issues statement on Rio gas station incident, release negotiations

The last of the three swimmers with Ryan Lochte at the scene of a Rio gas station dispute on Aug. 14 that turned into an international incident released a statement late Tuesday night, including details on the negotiations between his lawyers and the Brazilian authorities.

Jimmy Feigen said he was interviewed multiple times by police as he was caught up in the aftermath of Lochte initially telling the news media that they had been robbed at gunpoint  Feigen said he was presented with two options by Brazilian prosecutors last week: wait about a month as police conduct its investigation or pay a fine.

Prosecutors initially sought $31,500 for the return of Feigen’s passport that would allow him to leave the country. When Feigen’s lawyers balked at that figure, prosecutors raised the fine to $46,875. 

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Feigen retold a similar account to the others on what went down after they left a party at French House. 

“We pulled over to a gas station to use the bathroom but the door was locked,” Feigen said. “We did not force entry into the bathroom, nor did we ever enter the bathroom. We did, however, make the regrettable decision to urinate in the grass behind the building.”

He omitted the urination part when he first spoke with police, but gave the full story when he was subsequently interviewed by authorities. 

“On our way back to the cab, Ryan Lochte pulled a poster in a metal frame off a wall,” Feigen  said. “I got back into the cab and waited for the others. One of my teammates told me that a man with a gun was standing outside the cab. The man with the gun spoke with the cab driver, who got out of the cab. We then got out of the cab and I paid the driver the fare. As I walked away, the man with the gun pointed it at me and my teammates and ordered us, in Portuguese, to sit. This was the first time I have ever had a gun pointed at me and I was terrified.”

Feigen said he and Bentz paid for the damage to the poster.

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