Mistakes led to end of ex-L.A. cop's rampage

Law enforcement authorities investigate the charred remains of a cabin Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, where quadruple-murder suspect Christopher Dorner is believed to have died after barricading himself inside during a stand-off with police, in the Angeles Oaks area of Big Bear, Calif. / AP Photo/The Sun, John Valenzuela

LOS ANGELES He styled himself as a Rambo-like guerrilla, someone trained to outwit and outshoot the police at every turn, and while Christopher Dorner left no doubt he could be unforgivingly violent, when it came to keeping ahead of the law during his deadly rampage, he made one mistake after another.

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Body found: Is it Christopher Dorner?

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Manhunt for suspected LAPD cop killer

The last one — letting one of two people he tied up get loose and call police as he made off in their purple car — tipped authorities he was coming.

The angry ex-cop, who authorities say boasted that police agencies had no chance of capturing him except on his terms, appears to have been killed Tuesday in a fierce gun battle after he wrecked two getaway cars and had to make a last stand in a mountain cabin 80 miles east of Los Angeles.

The cabin went up in flames after authorities launched pyrotechnic tear gas canisters into it. Sheriff's deputies were not trying to burn down the cabin with Dorner inside but simply flush him out, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said.

"It was not on purpose," he told reporters Wednesday. "We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out."

Authorities were all but certain the charred body found inside afterward was Dorner's. They are waiting for forensic tests to confirm that, but in the meantime McMahon said Wednesday that authorities consider the hunt over.

Personal effects, including Dorner's driver's license, were found with the body, an official briefed on the search told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

As an indication that police are confident they've got the right man, even though there's no positive ID yet from the coroner on the body, all 400 LAPD officers assigned to protect families on Dorner's revenge list have now gone back to regular duty.

• Fate of $1M reward in Christopher Dorner case unclear
• Sheriff: Fire in cabin not set intentionally

New information reveals Dorner was hiding out in a cabin-style condominium at Big Bear, just a stone's throw from the sheriff's command post, likely since last week, until owners Karen and Jim Reynolds walked in on him unexpectedly on Tuesday.

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Couple recall encounter with Christopher Dorner

"He talked to us, tried to calm us down and saying very frequently he would not kill us," Karen Reynolds told reporters.

Dorner wanted their car to escape the area, but first he tied up the couple, reports CBS News correspondent Carter Evans.

Dorner bound them, put pillow cases over their heads and fled in their purple Nissan.

Jim Reynolds said he first thought Dorner was going to kill them. "When he had me lying on the ground, yes, I really did," he told reporters. "I thought he's changed his mind and he's just trying to calm us down and get us in here and he's going to do it."

They were able to get to Karen Reynolds' cell phone and dial 911.

• Calif. deputy slain in ex-cop shootout was father of 2
• Police fill in the blanks on Dorner's last day
• Carjacking victim: Christopher Dorner told me "I don't want to hurt you"

The Reynolds told their story at a news conference Wednesday night, they said, to clear up recent reports that it was two female housekeepers who had found Dorner and been tied up.

Their account could not immediately be confirmed by law enforcement officials, but it matched earlier reports saying it was a married couple, and property records showed them as the owners.

Dorner later abandoned the Reynolds' vehicle, and then carjacked a truck driven by Rick Heltebrake. "He came out of the snow, and I stopped, put my truck into park, put my hands up, and he has a gun aimed at me," he told CBS News. "And he said, 'I don't want to hurt you, just get out, start walking up the road and take your dog.'"

Dorner drove off, wearing camouflage and a bulletproof vest.

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[Gregmich64]

I don't believe for a second that they didn't burn the cabin down on purpose. But, hey what should he have expected when he had killed four people already. But, the LAPD and any other possible racist, clicky organizations need to start looking in their mirrors and fix themselves. And yes, I do blieve the training officer kicked the mentally ill person.

[littleredtop]

I'm certain that the authorities will now find a way to back out on awarding the Reynolds couple with the $1 million reward which is rightfully theirs. Keep in mind that a reward is considered income and subject to local, state and federal tax which will consume approximately 75% of the sum and leave the couple with about $250,000 minus legal and accounting fees. The next question is who will pay for the destroyed cabin? Being that its destruction resulted from an act of civil unrest, which typically isn't covered by insurance, the owners will be left with a worthless lot and extensive clean up expenses. The only winners in this will be the media who profited from exploiting the coverage of this incident. Perhaps the media should compensate all those involved.

[cherrystate]

"he made one mistake.
The last one — letting one of two people he tied up get loose and call police"

Really?! You call that an accident?

[mjlewis6]

The biggest mistake in this case was the SHOOTING of two women by the LAPD when they stopped a truck THEY ASSUMED belonged to the suspect. There was no show of resistance, no lethal force used by the women, no altercation, and as to mistaken identity....just look at the bullet holes in the rear of the truck to understand they were shooting first REGARDLESS of whatever provocation they invented in their minds.

All training is DEADLY with lethal force by police, and there was no room for Dorner for his inability to manage police business and personal issues just as there is NO ROOM FOR THESE TWO OFFICERS to assault with deadly force anyone who fits their fears on the job. NO BULLETS should have been fired at all.

Are they arrested? Are they behind bars? Are we so lame as to let the LAPD maintain a defense of these police actions? As a whole the tragic consequences are that any POLICE OFFICER discharged from his duties needs to have psychiatric counseling, period. Dorner apparently has a few 'copies' still on the force. He may not clear his name, but you can see from this shooting of other civilians there are other police officers incapable of doing the job without committing a crime of negligent assault with a deadly weapon.

[jakeshuman]

Well, I guess according to the article his big mistake was not killing his hostages. When a news organization calls compassion a "mistake", I guess we're in more trouble as a society than I thought. Maybe CBS should hire Ann Colter as a commentator.