By L.A. Times Fugitive ex-cop Christopher Jordan Dorner, accused in the killings of four people, told two hostages he wanted to clear his name shortly before his presumed death

The hostage quoted him as saying: “I don’t have a problem with you. I just want to clear my name.”

“He tried to calm us down, saying very frequently, he would not kill us,” said Jim Reynolds, 66, who has owned the condo with his wife for 12 years. “He huddled down beside me and said ‘you’re going to be quiet, right? Not make a fuss and let me get away?’ ”

PHOTOS: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer

“He told us ‘I know you know who I am, I know you’ve been seeing the news,’ ” Karen Reynolds, 56, said.

The couple provided new details on some of Dorner’s movements in the apparent final hours of his life before he is believed to have died in a fire following a mountainside gun battle with officers. Law enforcement authorities previously said the fugitive had held two cleaning women hostage. The Reynolds, married for 36 years, spoke to reporters to end the confusion. 

Dorner bound the couple’s arms and legs tightly with plastic zip locks, stuffed small towels in their mouths so they couldn’t scream and covered their heads with pillowcases, they said. He tied an extension cord around each of pillowcases to keep the gags in place.

TIMELINE: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer

“I really thought it could be the end,” Karen Reynolds said.

The Reynolds said Dorner had been at the condo since as early as Friday when they arrived to do maintenance in the yard. He told them he was watching them while they worked during the day before leaving to sleep at another property nearby. The couple own the condo, near ski resorts in the snow-capped San Bernardino Mountains, and lease it out to people on vacation.

Dorner said he had seen Jim Reynolds shoveling snow and told the couple they were “hard-working, good people.”

When they entered the condo about noon Tuesday to clean the unit, they said, they were surprised to find the fugitive former Los Angeles police officer inside, upstairs. They said they were held captive for about 15 minutes.

INTERACTIVE MAP: Searching for suspected shooter

Once they saw Dorner, they said, he brandished a “big gun” and yelled, “Stay calm!” 

Karen Reynolds said she tried to run down the stairs, but Dorner chased after her and caught her. He then took the couple to a bedroom, where he tied them up, forcing them to lie on the bed, and then on the floor.

Dorner was a menacing presence but at other times tried to reassure the couple that he did not want to harm them, they said.

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Karen Reynolds said Dorner left the condo and stole their purple Nissan.

At that point, Karen Reynolds was able to roll on her knees and get onto her feet. She was able to make her way to the cellphone on the coffee table. With her hands still bound behind her back, she was able to call 911, and put the phone on speaker about two minutes after they heard the car leave.

“Dorner tied us up, and he’s in Big Bear,” Karen Reynolds recalled telling the operator.

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