Hank Caylor is going to trial and his attorney needs...

**BASE359** · February 7th, 2001, 01:29 PM

Dear BASE Jumping Community,

My name is Gage Fellows. I am a lawyer in Denver, Colorado. My client, Hank Caylor, made a BASE jump off a downtown hotel in October. He has been charged with Reckless Endangerment. There was no trespassing involved and Denver as well as the state of Colorado have no specific laws against BASE jumping.

We are going to trial. I need help to show that BASE jumping is a safe activity for spectators. No one was hurt, aside from Hank, during his jump.
He and some friends had been jumping off this hotel every week for months.
They always jumped late at night when there was no traffic and no people in the streets below. The prosecutor is claiming that Hank was a danger to the people of Denver.

It will help me win Hank's case if I can provide statistics that there are few, if any, incidents where someone on the ground was injured by a landing jumper or something falling off of the jumper. Do you keep stats like this or know a group or individual who does? Please email me with the name and, if possible, contact information. I appreciate any information you can provide.

Also, do you know of BASE jumping equipment manufacturers, BASE jumping training centers, BASE jumping associations? If so, please email me with the name and, if possible, contact information. I appreciate any information you
can provide.

Additionally, do you know of any expert BASE jumpers who may be willing to come to Denver and testify as an expert witness about the techniques involved for BASE jumping? Preferably someone with a minimum of 100 BASE jumps. If so, please email me with the name and, if possible, contact information. I appreciate any information you can provide.

You help will benefit the public image of BASE jumping. I think we will win the trial.
Thank you for any information you can provide. Hank and I appreciate your time and aid.

Sincerely,
Gage Fellows
gagelawoffice@cs.com
303.257.1615
130 W. Third Ave.,
Denver, CO 80223

guest · February 7th, 2001, 04:14 PM

434 jumps in six hours no injuries on or off the field!!! KL Tower Jump 2001

**346** · February 8th, 2001, 09:16 AM

Bridge Day has been an annual event in West Virginia for 20+ years. I've been a participant for 10 years and I've never heard of any spectators injured. I'm sure that if ANY spectator had ever been injured by a jumper, the NPS would have all kinds of paperwork on it...

**base311** · February 8th, 2001, 12:53 PM

yeah I'm sure the NPS is gonna get right on that.. coming to the rescue by coughing up some paperwork to save a base jumper's ass. HAH!
maybe try a foia request but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

gardner
p.s. good luck, Hank! c-ya in moab?

**346** · February 9th, 2001, 06:22 AM

In this case, the lack of paperwork works to our advantage. You'd think the NPS would (excuse the pun) jump at the chance to prove that BASE jumping = injuries to spectators. I don't think they have anything to back a claim like that. We need to make sure that they never get that kind of ammo.

**base311** · February 9th, 2001, 06:45 AM

yeah I know I was just bein' a dick.

**BASE359** · February 15th, 2001, 05:11 PM

I had an email from Gage Fellows yesterday...it appears that the defense team is still searching for a credible BASE expert.
Any around here?

BASE359

**Mike** · February 15th, 2001, 10:44 PM

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Feb-16-01 AT 00:09 AM (PST)[/font][p]It will be hard to find someone with enough experience to be credited as a "base expert" without being discredited by their own criminal record.

By the way, has anyone ever won a case involving a building jump? When it involves an injury or other mishap, it seems to me the best thing to do is take your medicine and just pay the fine. Unless there is some outlandish charge involved, like a felony, it usually isn't worth defending. It's not a felony is it?

I don't know anything about this case, or laws in Colorado. But I want everyone who reads this thread to know that this is not the usual course of action when you get busted on a building jump. Usually the best thing to do is cut your losses, be cooperative, and plead guilty as hell. Otherwise you just look stupid trying to convince anyone that jumping off a downtown building is a safe and reasonable endeavor.

Now I'm not saying we should be ashamed and let "the man" walk all over us. But we need to pick our battles more wisely than this. For example, the fight to legalize base jumping in the national parks is a reasonable one. I believe that is a fight that can and will be won, eventually.

I hope this lawyer has some experience with this kind of case; so far it seems he does not. I encourage those involved to seek the advice of someone like Fred Morelli. I think I know what he would tell you...

Seriously, Good luck.

guest · February 16th, 2001, 04:30 AM

Frank Morelli (spelling?) is currently defending B.A.S.E. jumpers in a couple of cases. I don't have phone numbers but if you check with Dennis Mcglynn @ Gravity Sports I'm sure that he could put you in touch with him.

Bud Conner

guest · February 19th, 2001, 06:20 PM

I can't guarantee that Fred will help but he is one hell of a guy with LOTS of information. I think it would be a good idea to use the activities such as Bridge Day, Kuala Lampur jumps in Malaysia and IPBC events as your grounds of dismissal!

I hope this helps! Hand in there Hank!

Fred Morelli
Law Offices of Morelli and Cook
403 W. Galena Blvd
P.O. Box 1416
Aurora, IL 60507
Phone: 630.892.6665

Blue skies and c-ya at the exit, Timmm