Ex-Officer Admits Hindering Inquiry

A former California Highway Patrol officer who touched off a massive manhunt after claiming a motorist shot him, a story detectives later called a fabrication, pleaded guilty Friday to obstructing the investigation.

Gary Lee Burnett, an 11-year CHP veteran who was fired in January, was sentenced to three years of probation, one year of mandatory psychological counseling and 450 hours of community service.

The agreement ends a highly publicized case in which authorities spent an estimated $40,000 searching for an assailant who detectives concluded did not exist.

“This is a fair disposition to the case,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Ebrahim Baytieh. “He’s no longer a peace officer, and he’s going to have to undergo one year of psychological counseling. Holding him accountable and mandatory psychological counseling were our main goals.”

On Friday, Burnett, 40, signed a court document admitting that he made an untrue statement to detectives investigating the alleged attack. The court document did not address whether Burnett staged the shooting, and his lawyer declined to answer that question after the hearing.

In August 1999, Burnett told investigators that a white male shot him twice during a traffic stop on Interstate 5 just north of Avenida Pico in San Clemente. He said the gunman was driving a new red Toyota pickup truck without license plates.

The officer drove to a San Clemente hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to his right arm. A second bullet was stopped by a tape recorder in his shirt pocket.

After Burnett recovered, he was treated like a hero in the community. He wept at a political fund-raiser where he received a standing ovation and spoke about his reported brush with death during an interview published in Highway Patrolman magazine.

He drove himself to the hospital, he told the magazine, because “I wasn’t about to wait around for the guy to come back and finish the job.”

The officer also said doctors were impressed by his quick recovery.

“They called it a miracle,” he said.

Discrepancies in physical evidence (there was no blood on the freeway shoulder, for instance) led sheriff’s detectives to conclude that Burnett fabricated the story. They also became suspicious because he discarded the barrel of his off-duty gun after they called him and asked for it; he said it was defective. Examination of the barrel can link a gun to a fired bullet.

On Friday, Orange County Superior Court Judge Gary Paer also fined Burnett $2,000. As part of a plea agreement, Baytieh dismissed charges of making a false report of an emergency and destroying evidence. The prosecutor declined to say whether he thought Burnett shot himself.

“This investigation started with investigators from the Sheriff’s Department looking for a suspect that allegedly had tried to kill a peace officer,” Baytieh said. “After a thorough investigation, we believe there is no outstanding suspect who attempted to kill a peace officer.”

Burnett’s attorney, Paul Meyer, said the plea means only that Burnett made a single false statement during the investigation. It is not an admission that the shooting happened any other way than Burnett initially described, Meyer said.

Asked to explain how the officer was injured, Meyer said, “I’m making no comment with regard to that. This settlement speaks for itself.”