Man allegedly urinated on Old Faithful before wild police chase

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — A Colorado man is in hot water for standing way too close to hot water.

Gabriel Villalva, 27, was allegedly caught on camera urinating into Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.

Several bystanders and park rangers shouted at Villalva to move away from the famous geyser, but video shows him ignoring their pleas; instead standing dangerously close to the boiling water and steam.

Villalva then gets down on the ground and actually peers into the geyser.

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A second video has also surfaced showing Villalva pulling the same stunt at Beryl Spring, one of Yellowstone’s hottest springs.

Kelly Kosciuk of Savannah, Georgia started recording that incident on her cell phone while she and others nearby screamed for him to move.

“People driving by and everyone around him were yelling get out of the water,” said Kosciuk.

VIDEO: Man cited after walking on the cone of Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

Kosciuk says she was worried what else the man might be capable of, since he was willing to risk severe burns.

“It was comical but there was definitely a part of me that was like keep an eye on this guy,” she said.

Kosciuk wasn’t surprised Villalva was later arrested.

“He should be punished for sure. No normal thinking person walks around on hot geysers,” she said.

Villalva is facing several charges in U.S. District Court in Wyoming:

– Foot travel in all thermal areas and within Yellowstone Canyon confined to trails.
– Interfere with agency function – Violate the lawful order of a government employee or agent.
– Interfere with agency function – Threaten/resist/intimidate/intent interfere with a government employee.
– Disorderly conduct – creating/maintaining hazardous condition.

However, his destructive week didn’t end with Yellowstone National Park.

Villalva was also arrested on Wednesday, almost seven hours away in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

The police department in Cheyenne received several phone calls about an erratic driver going speeding and driving the wrong direction on several streets.

Officers responded and began following him.

“It certainly had people talking. He was driving through several greens at the golf course,” said Kevin Malatesta with the Cheyenne Police Department.

Police say Villalva drove through the middle of the park and a golf course during that chase. He also hit a patrol car.

The chase finally ended when officers deployed spike strips to stop Villalva’s SUV. However, police say he continued to refuse to leave his vehicle, instead revving his engine as the SUV’s flattened tires threw sparks into the air.

That eventually sparked a fire which engulfed the back half of Villalva’s SUV.

He finally left the vehicle and surrendered after officers began shooting rounds of bean bags at him.

Cheyenne Police arrested Villalva for DUI, fleeing and eluding, destruction of property, reckless driving, and aggravated assault. He’s currently being held in the Larimer County Jail.