Justin Casquejo was initially arrested after dozens of photos and videos posted in recent weeks to what appears to be Justin Casquejo’s Instagram account shows the man, now 18, hanging off of buildings, cranes and rooftops across New York City. His lawyer Jeremy Saland speaks to NBC 4 after the court appearance.
The daredevil who pleaded guilty to scaling to the top of One World Trade Center as a teen in 2014 turned himself into police Friday after more video surfaced of him climbing New York City skyscrapers.
Justin Casquejo was initially arrested on felony reckless endangerment and criminal trespassing charges after dozens of photos and videos posted in recent weeks to what appears to be Justin Casquejo's Instagram account shows the man, now 18, hanging off of buildings, cranes and rooftops across New York City.
Prosecutors later charged the teen with misdemeanors, not felonies.
Prosecutors focused on one video showing Casquejo climbing and suspending himself from the outside of 70 Pine St. in the Financial District in February. A security contractor who works in the building told prosecutors that he routinely sees Casquejo going to the building, and that he recognized the building in the video, according to a court complaint.
The building was under heavy construction in February, with no operating businesses or occupied residences.
Casquejo was released on $15,000 bail. He said nothing to reporters as he left the courthouse Friday, but his attorney called him "a terrific young man with great potential."
"This is not a young man who's going out just for thrills as one might think," said Jeremy Saland.
Local
Saland said the video and images recently posted by the teen were "old footage."
"There's no allegation that this happened anytime in the recent past. These are old allegations, if true," he said. "This young man has followed the rule of the law, has not been involved in these buildings anytime recently."
"I'm confident that my client will be a law-abiding citizen," he added. "My client has the utmost respect for law enforcement, has utmost respect for the court."
Other recent images show Casquejo apparently hanging from scaffolding for a high-rise being constructed near Central Park, while others show him standing atop a roof on the West Side, or gripping the metal beams of Coney Island's iconic Parachute Jump ride.
"What do you mean when you say you can't do something?" reads one caption, which accompanies a photo of what appears to be Casquejo hanging off the side of the Time Warner Building in Columbus Circle.
Casquejo made headlines in 2014 when the Weehawken native sneaked by security at the World Trade Center site and made his way to the top of the building to post a similar death-defying image.
Shortly after being sentenced to community service in that incident, he was again arrested for trying to scale a building in New Jersey. His sentence for scaling the World Trade Center was subsequently increased to 3 years probation, but courts officials said the term was terminated early due to his compliance.
It's not clear if authorities will seek a stiffer penalty after Friday's arrest.
