Pasadena police didn’t get their wish as the District Attorney declined to file involuntary manslaughter charges against Oscar Carillo of Pasadena, whose 911 call resulted in the shooting death of an unarmed man. The DA has kicked the investigation back down to the Pasadena PD for further investigation.

Despite the fact that Carillo hasn’t been charged, the DA could choose to file charges at a later date pending any new evidence collected by the police, and it would be wise for him to retain a Pasadena criminal defense attorney immediately.

The investigation surrounds Carillo’s attempt to get police to respond more quickly to a robbery that he was a victim of. Carillo’s backpack was stolen by Kendrec Lavelle McDade and another suspect last week. When Carillo called 911 to report the crime, he told the 911 dispatcher that two men armed with handguns stole his backpack. Carillo was lying about the men being armed, but figured that if police thought there were armed and dangerous suspects on the loose, they would pay more attention to his call than if it was two unarmed men.

Carilllo was right. Unfortunately, police were acting on information provided by 911 dispatchers, and when McDade made a move, police thought he was reaching for a gun that he didn’t actually have, and they fatally shot him.

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, Carillo might still be charged with involuntary manslaughter, which carries with it a maximum sentence of 4 years in state prison.

What do you think? Should Carillo be charged with involuntary manslaughter for lying to the police about McDade and his accomplice being armed with guns, which ultimately led police to fatally shoot McDade?