One of Ryan Lochte's teammates just threw him under the bus

Gunnar Bentz, one of the US Olympic swimmers embroiled in an international incident over an alleged robbery in Rio, has issued a statement detailing what happened.

Bentz offered a step-by-step account of the incident on Friday, after several days of conflicting reports about it involving Ryan Lochte and fellow US swimmers Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen.

According to Bentz's statement, the group stopped at a gas station to use the restroom last Sunday, on their way back to the Olympic Village in Rio.

"There was no restroom inside, so we foolishly relieved ourselves on the backside of the building behind some bushes," Bentz's statement read. "I am unsure why, but while we were in that area, Ryan pulled to the ground a framed metal advertisement that was loosely anchored to the brick wall."

"I then suggested to everyone that we needed to leave the area and we returned to the taxi," read the statement.

The group apparently got into a taxi, according to Bentz's statement, and that's when things got tense:

"Two men, whom I believe to have been security guards, then instructed us to exit the vehicle. No guns were drawn during this exchange ... As Jimmy and Jack were walking away from the vehicle, the first security guard held up a badge to me and drew his handgun. I yelled to [Jimmy and Jack] to come back toward us and they complied. Then the second guard drew his weapon and both guards pointed their guns at us and yelled at us to sit on a nearby sidewalk."

Bentz says that the guards refused to let them leave, demanding payment for the damaged sign.

"I gave them what I had in my wallet, which was a $20 bill, and Jimmy gave them 100 Reals," Bentz recalled, "which is about $50 in total."

Lochte initially said that he, Feigen, Bentz, and Conger were robbed at gunpoint, and that men dressed as police officers took their money - at one point cocking a gun at Lochte's forehead. Bentz's statement appears to contradict that narrative.

Lochte apologized in a statement on Friday, expressing regret "for not being more careful and candid" about what happened. His apology offered few details, saying only that the incident was "traumatic" and blamed "a language barrier" for what transpired.

Scott Davis and Emmett Knowlton contributed reporting for this story.