Four Plead Guilty To BASE Jumping

On May 1st, dispatch notified rangers that a park researcher had reported seeing parachutes in the air in the vicinity of Mount Kinesava (click on “More Information” below for the original report). Rangers responded and contacted four men, all of whom were carrying large backpacks. All four refused to consent to a search of their backpacks, so a search warrant was requested, obtained and served, resulting in the seizure of four parachutes and associated equipment. Each was also issued a mandatory appearance violation notice. On August 8th, the last of the four men entered his plea. Ferry Jacobs, 28, Christopher McNamara, 28, Jeffery “JT” Holmes, 26, and Jesse Hall, 24, all pled guilty to 36 CFR 2.17(a)(3), the regulation on “air delivery” (this rule prohibits “delivering or retrieving a person or object by parachute, helicopter, or other airborne means, except in emergencies…”). Each worked out a slightly different plea agreement with the assistant U.S. attorney, so the fines ranged from $2,000 with permanent forfeiture of equipment to $4,000 with return of equipment. Plea agreements also included a 24 month ban from the park and $500 in restitution to the Peregrine Fund, as the cliff that they jumped from was closed at the time because it was an active peregrine falcon nesting area.