SIMI VALLEY : Man Recants Story of Taunts, Shooting

A Kansas man who claimed he was shot last October in Simi Valley by assailants who shouted a racial taunt at him has confessed he fabricated the incident and that he shot himself, authorities said Wednesday.

Jeffrey Coleman, 24, of Kansas City admitted he shot himself in the shoulder while he was intoxicated because he was despondent over a relationship, said Simi Valley Detective Bill Daniels. He changed his story when confronted with discrepancies in his earlier statements, Daniels said.

Coleman initially told police he was shot Oct. 29 while hitchhiking on an on-ramp to the Simi Valley Freeway by someone in a late-model sedan who yelled out “Hey, white boy,” before firing three shots, Daniels said.

But early in the investigation, detectives discovered inconsistencies in Coleman’s account that made police skeptical, Lt. Bob Klamser said.

“One of the things was that the nature of his wound was not consistent with his statement,” said Klamser, who declined to elaborate. He said lab tests later confirmed the investigators’ suspicions.

Klamser said police have not yet decided whether to seek prosecution of Coleman for filing a false police report. The offense is a misdemeanor, which is not grounds for extradition to Kansas, Klamser said.