Court Rules on Men Who Parachuted off Crane in North Carolina

By: Lexi Solomon
Source: The News & Observer (Raleigh) (TNS)

The charges against two Triangle men accused of parachuting from a downtown Raleigh crane on Christmas Eve (see report above) were conditionally dismissed Thursday, court records show.

Jason McClure, 51, of Raleigh and Jorge Chacon, 37, of Durham were charged with first-degree trespassing and resisting a public officer, The News & Observer previously reported.

The pair learned in Thursday’s hearings that those charges will be dismissed if they each complete 30 hours of community service, according to court records.

Police were called to the construction site of Raleigh’s new City Hall on West Hargett Street about 2 a.m. after a security alarm alerted them, The N&O reported then. Police said the two were at the top of the crane with their parachutes and refused to follow officers’ commands to get down.

McClure and Chacon then jumped off the crane and onto the top parking deck of City Hall, according to a Raleigh Police Department news release. They weren’t injured in the incident and later posted $2,000 bail.

The men are competitive skydivers who have competed nationally, social media posts showed. A March 2023 Wake Living magazine article described Chacon as a passionate skydiving instructor of nearly a decade whose mother was one of the first female paratroopers in Ecuador.

The crane in question was 320 feet high, according to a city spokesperson. Brasfield & Gorrie, the contractor behind the project, said they were “thankful no one was hurt” and were evaluating site security protocols.

McClure and Chacon will appear in court June 5 to finalize that dismissal, court records show.

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