A thrill seeker who leaps off cliffs and buildings into pools and the ocean—and then posts his GoPro video of the dangerous feats on YouTube—was arrested this morning for suspected trespassing onto private property in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach.
Anthony Armer, who uses his middle name “Booth” as his YouTube handle, had been charged Tuesday with two misdemeanor counts of unauthorized entry of a dwelling and one misdemeanor count of trespassing with intent to interfere with business, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office.
The 28-year-old Laguna Niguel is accused of pulling stunts July 21 at a gated private residence and Sept. 29 at the Surf and Sand Hotel, both in Laguna Beach, as well as Oct. 6 at the Newport Towers condominium complex.
An arraignment date has not yet been set, but it will be interesting if Armer pleads not guilty because of the amount of footage there is online, including this from his 8Booth channel:
Then there is a recent KCBS report, which features Armer being interviewed on camera.
“Booth” tells the reporter about what he is doing for his “industry.”
(Which would seem to imply one makes money from jumps. … How the hell does one do that?)
In the KCBS piece, a Crystal Cove state park ranger calls what the self-admitted adrenaline junkie does as “illegal activity.”
So do Orange County prosectors.
From the OCDA charging statement:
On July 21, 2016, Armer is accused of climbing over a retaining wall onto the gated property of a private residence in Laguna Beach. The defendant is then accused of climbing onto the roof of the residence and jumping into the ocean near Table Rock Beach. Armer is accused of recording the incident and posting the video on YouTube. The Laguna Beach Police Department (LBPD) investigated the incident after the video gained media attention, and the homeowner confirmed Armer did not have permission to access their property.
On Sept. 29, 2016, Armer is accused of climbing over a wall and accessing employee-only areas of the Surf and Sand Hotel in Laguna Beach. The defendant is accused of climbing to the fifth floor of the hotel and jumping into the gated, guest-only pool. Armer was not a guest of the hotel. Hotel employees reported the event to LBPD.
On Oct. 6, 2016, at approximately 9:00 a.m., Armer is accused of entering Newport Towers, a private residential building on West Coast Highway in Newport Beach. The defendant is accused of running up several flights of stairs and jumping from the building's roof to the harbor below. Newport Towers security reported the trespassing to the Newport Beach Police Department (NBPD).
Investigators from the Laguna Beach and Newport Beach police departments are asking anyone who believes they are victims of Armer's trespassing to contact them or Deputy District Attorney Nathaniel Barrett of the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.
Meanwhile, the Man of the Hour vowed to keep on dare-deviling, or at least he did before his arrest.
“A lot of people think it’s stupid,” Booth told KCBS, “but I think it’s stupid sitting in a cubicle all day.”
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.