Man Accidentally Shot Self, Falsely Reported Drive-By Shooting: Polk County Sheriff

MULBERRY, FL — A Mulberry man who accidentally shot himself was arrested Sunday for falsely reporting a drive-by shooting, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

James Ansony Sosa-Pinto, 22, reported the shooting to hospital workers after showing up that afternoon at a Lakeland Regional Health emergency room with a gunshot wound to his left leg.

When deputies went to his 2nd Avenue NW home to investigate, they found blood in his bedroom, the sheriff’s office said. They also found a spent casing and bullet in the room, as well as an impact mark on the floor.

Multiple vape cartridges containing THC resin were also recovered from the bedroom.

The wound on Sosa-Pinto's leg showed that a bullet had entered the thigh and exited through the calf, PCSO said. Powder burns were found near the entry wound and also on his left hand.

Evidence showed that Sosa-Pinto accidentally shot himself, investigators said

Confronted with the inconsistencies to his claim of a drive-by shooting, Sosa-Pinto backtracked and said that he never reported that he was the victim of a drive-by.

After being treated for his injury, he was arrested and taken to the Sheriff's Processing Center where he was charged with false report of a firearm used in a violent manner, possession of cannabis resin and possession of drug paraphernalia.

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