Super Bowl Crashers Facing Trial After Plea Deal Rejected By Florida Judge

A Florida judge on Tuesday rejected a proposed plea deal for the two men who ran onto the field during Super Bowl LV and rescheduled the case for May.

Judge Jack Gutman had rejected the plea deal after reviewing the video involving defendants Yuri Andrade and Douglas Schaffer, who were charged in February with trespassing at Raymond James Stadium in what appeared to be a promotion for an adult website.

“I am familiar with these cases, as is most of the world,” Gutman said. “I’m not prejudging the case. However, I look at the probable cause on every case. They can have a trial. But the way I view this situation — I saw the video — they exposed multiple individuals to injury that had to chase Mr. Andrade, that had to dive, that had to tackle him. It was a dangerous situation.”

The planned plea deal involved the pair pleading guilty to a misdemeanor, serving six months of probation, 25 hours of community service, paying court costs and writing a letter of apology to the National Football League.

According to The Tampa Bay Times, attorney Luis Cartaya said the pair had reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to misdemeanor trespassing charges. Cartaya sought more community service or a monetary donation but Gutman rejected the deal.

Gutman singled out Andrade as deserving more severe punishment, suggesting he would sentence him to a year of probation, more community service and a monetary fine.

“He’s going to understand the consequences of his actions, if he’s found guilty,” Gutman said. “This is not going to be a walk in the park for him. …[This plea deal] is not in the best interest of the fair administration of justice.”

Andrade and Schaffer allegedly coordinated their stunt, studying previous failed Super Bowl streaking attempts and the layout of the stadium to find potential escape routes. They placed bets that a streaker would appear in the game, and had Schaffer run on first to distract security personnel.

They said the stunt was planned with a third man, a social media influencer and the manager of the adult website emblazoned on Andrade’s pink leotard. That man’s previous attempts to streak at Super Bowls failed because he was too recognizable.