YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - A 27-year-old Colorado man who walked dangerously close to Old Faithful geyser in September is banned from Yellowstone National Park and nearby Grand Teton National Park for five years.
Gabriel Villalva of Greeley pleaded guilty Thursday to disorderly conduct and foot traffic on a thermal area in Yellowstone. Magistrate Judge Mark L. Carman sentenced him to five years of probation, during which time he cannot enter the parks.
Tourists captured videos of Villalva standing within a few feet of Old Faithful on Sept. 14.
Five days later, Villalva was arrested in Wyoming’s capital city of Cheyenne after a police chase in which his vehicle caught fire.
Villalva remains jailed on $10,000 cash bond. His attorney in the Cheyenne case, public defender Donald Miller, was not available for comment Friday.
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