Man Arrested After Climbing Casino Pier Ride: Seaside Police

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ — A man who climbed the Skyscraper ride at Casino Pier on Monday was arrested after authorities convinced him to climb down, Seaside Heights police said Monday afternoon.

Christopher Angulo, 45, formerly of Lavallette but now with no known address, charged with defiant trespass after he was seen atop the Skyscraper about 6 a.m., Seaside Heights Detective Steve Korman said. While he was at the top of the ride, he attached an American flag to the top of the ride.

Police spoke to him by phone several times, and Angulo asked for an attorney for help with a recent arrest within another jurisdiction, Korman said. Angulo also was seeking help with ongoing personal family matters. Seaside Heights Police Chief Thomas Boyd arrived and after speaking with Angulo by phone, Angulo climbed down.

Once Angulo was on the pier, he was arrested by Patrolman Chris Linnell and taken to Seaside Heights Police Headquarters, processed and taken to Community Medical Center for evaluation, Korman said.

Angulo made headlines in January 2013 for climbing on the Jet Star roller coaster as it sat in the Atlantic after Sandy wrecked the pier.

He climbed down from the Skyscraper Monday and was arrested about 10:15 a.m., after being on the ride for more than two hours.

In March Angulo was arrested during a dispute with authorities at a Lavallette Borough Council meeting. Patrolman Thomas Harrington arrested him and charged him with disturbing a public meeting, disorderly conduct, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, police said.

According to the police report, Angulo began shouting out and talking over the council as it conducted business prior to public comment. The report said Angulo was narrating a live video on Facebook. What he was shouting or saying was not described, and any videos on Angulo's Facebook page are hidden from public view.

It was not immediately clear whether the council meeting dispute was the issue that prompted Angulo to climb the Skyscraper.

Angulo 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

The March 2 incident at the Lavallette Borough Council meeting was one of several run-ins he's had with police.

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.

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.

Below is his account of the encounter during the Lavallette Borough Council meeting:

The Seaside Heights Police Department was assisted by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, Ocean County Sheriff's Department, New Jersey State Police TEAMS Unit, New Jersey State Police Aviation, Seaside Heights Beach Patrol Units, Seaside Heights Fire Department Station 44, Tri-Boro First Aid Units.

Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Toms River Patch on Facebook.