Laguna Beach investigators arrested a man who they suspect of clandestinely ascending to the rooftops of private homes in coastal cities in recent months in order to film daring jumps of himself into the ocean or swimming pools below.
Anthony Armer, 28, was arrested by detectives Wednesday, Oct. 26, outside his Laguna Niguel home for an outstanding arrest warrant stemming from two trespassing incidents in Laguna Beach, Sgt. Tim Kleiser.
Armer, who posted his exploits under the name “8 Booth” on YouTube, hold investigators he makes documentaries, said Kleiser, who didn’t ask what the moniker meant. Using a GoPro camera and wearing a bandana on his face, 8 Booth has posted four YouTube videos that take viewers along for 100-foot drops and near misses off cliff faces, including ones in Crystal Cove and Victoria Beach.
The most recent jump occurred Tuesday, Oct. 18, in the 31700 block of Seacliff Drive in Laguna Beach, according to the police log.
Police allege Armer also jumped in July from a multi-level private home into the waters of Table Rock Beach and is suspected of an Oct. 6 jump into Newport Harbor from an eight-story condo complex. That particular video has 6.2 million views.
During one video, he is seen jumping from the roof of a condo complex into an occupied swimming pool and nearly striking a swimmer, who escaped injury, Kleiser said. As the behavior posed a risk to the jumper as well as the public, detectives worked with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and obtained an arrest warrant, he said.
Detectives were able to identify Armer by talking to residents at the places where the jumps occurred, Kleiser said.
