Jet Star Climber Arrested, Threatened To Kill Police: Prosecutor

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River man who has had repeated run-ins with law enforcement has been charged with terroristic threats after he called the Ocean County prosecutor's office and threatened to kill police officers, the prosecutor's office said Thursday.

Christopher Angulo, 46, who gained fame in 2013 by climbing the Jet Star roller coaster as it sat in the Atlantic Ocean after Superstorm Sandy, was arrested Wednesday after he called and made the threat, the prosecutor's office said.

Angulo made the phone call Wednesday and was arrested later in the day at a residence in Toms River, authorities said. He had made specific threats against Bay Head police officers in May and had been charged at that time, they said.

Angulo has had repeated run-ins with law enforcement, including at least five arrests dating back to a Lavallette Borough Council meeting in March.

At that meeting, on March 2, Angulo began shouting out and talking over the council as it conducted business prior to public comment; he was arrested and charged with disturbing a public meeting, disorderly conduct, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, police said.

He was arrested again on June 22 after he climbed the Skyscraper ride on Casino Pier in Seaside Heights. In that incident, Angulo asked for an attorney for help with a recent arrest within another jurisdiction and was seeking help with ongoing personal family matters. He climbed down after speaking with Seaside Heights Police Chief Thomas Boyd.

Lavallette police said Angulo was arrested twice in the same day two weeks later, on July 6. He was arrested at 7:01 a.m. and charged with two counts of harassment, stalking, and resisting arrest, and later in the day arrested the second time, this time on charges of providing fictitious reports to law enforcement and disorderly conduct.

It was not clear whether Angulo's threats on Wednesday were directed at a specific police department or at police officers in general.

He was charged with making terroristic threats during a declared state of emergency and is being held at the Ocean County jail, awaiting a detention hearing.

Angulo was arrested in January 2013 after he took a canoe out to the Jet Star as it sat in the water off Seaside Heights, scaled the coaster and placed an American flag at the top. He described his actions as "an act of patriotism" at the time. He was charged with criminal trespassing after he was coaxed down. His court case was adjourned after he was taken for psychiatric counseling.

He also is the man who tried to carve a peace sign into a giant ice disk on Maine river in 2019, apparently cracking the disk that captivated observers around the world. Read more: NJ Man Climbed JetStar After Sandy; He's Cracked Famed Ice Disk

Angulo told the Asbury Park Press he was wrongfully accused of sexual assault in the mid-1990s and wrongfully arrested after a 2005 encounter with police. The two events caused a ripple effect and added challenges to his relationships with his three children, the report said.

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