$1 Million Christopher Dorner Award Loophole May Kick In If His Body Was Burned In Cabin

Over the weekend Villaraigosa announced that a $1 million reward funded by various groups would be made available to anyone who provided "information that will lead to Mr. Dorner's capture":

"Yesterday leaders from throughout the region, including leaders from businesses, came together to pool resources and protect our core value of public safety," Villaraigosa announced. "Collectively this group, led by my office, is posting a reward of $1 million for information that will lead to Mr. Dorner's capture."

A number of citizens came forward with information that proved crucial in helping law enforcement authorities find and corner Dorner, but if he is indeed dead, the award may not be forthcoming, as the wording leaves a massive loophole. Namely, if he is dead, that means that he was never "captured," and as such the mayor's office could decide to deny the informants the $1 million reward, though TMZ reports that his office has not yet said whether or not it will award the money despite the loophole.

TMZ reports that the Los Angeles City Council also set up a $100,000 reward for information that leads to "the identification, apprehension, and conviction" of Dorner, which clearly leaves the same loophole open, and Council sources told the site that there is a dispute between legal staff members about what to do about the reward. 

And the L.A. County Board of Supervisors also announced a $100,000 award for information "leading to the capture of Christopher Dorner," TMZ reported, which means the same loophole could be used in order to deny the monetary benefit.

Dormer was fired by the LAPD in 2008, and recently posted a rambling manifesto on his Facebook page stating, among other things, his desire to kill a number of LAPD officers in order to get back at the department for the termination.

Dormer, a 33-year-old former Los Angeles police officer and military veteran, is suspected of killing four people in a wild spree of violence that began when he allegedly killed Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence inside a vehicle in Irvine, Calif., on Feb. 3. Quan is a daughter of a former LAPD officer.

On Feb. 7, Dorner allegedly shot a police officer in Corona, Calif., but was able to evade capture. He allegedly went on to ambush and shoot two officers later that day at a Riverside, Calif., intersection, one of whom -- 34-year-old Michael Crain -- died. The other officer survived the attack.

A massive manhunt for Dorner was undertaken, sweeping across Southern California for six days, but the trail was cold until Tuesday, when a woman reportedly held hostage by Dorner escaped and called the police.

California Fish and Game officers then reportedly saw Dorner and engaged him in a firefight before he "fled into the forest and barricaded himself inside a cabin," authorities told a local CBS affiliate.

A furious shootout ensued between the suspect and law enforcement authorities, during which two San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies were shot, one of whom died.

A fire broke out at the cabin a couple of hours later, but police have not yet confirmed what started it. And, as mentioned before, human remains were recovered from the burned-out building, but they have not yet been positively identified.