Police: Man’s shooting claims were false

IOWA CITY - An Iowa City man faces charges for lying about the circumstances under which he was shot.

According to an Iowa City police criminal complaint, on Nov. 1, 19-year-old Sergio E. Martinez showed up at Mercy Hospital with gunshot wounds to both legs. Martinez told police he had been out for a walk and was walking through the Rose Oaks Apartment complex when he was shot multiple times by black men he did not know.

Police said Martinez's report caused police to call in off-duty officers to investigate the allegations. The complaint states 'many hours” were spent investigating the alleged shooting.

Now, police say the investigation showed the shooting did not occur as Martinez reported it. Instead, police said Martinez was shot by his friend while they were inside a car.

Martinez has been arrested and faces one count of making a false report of an indictable offense to a public entity, a serious misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.