2 BASE jumpers arrested after jump from Hilton Tower in San Francisco

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There was an unusual sight in San Francisco overnight as some people in the Tenderloin watched three people parachute off the top of a high rise. Police arrested two men for jumping off the top of the Hilton Hotel downtown.

It's called BASE (Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth) jumping and it's illegal. Officers say they caught the suspects just as they were landing a few blocks from the hotel, which happens to be blocks away from the Tenderloin Police Station on Jones and Eddy Streets.

Witnesses say the daring duo flew right over the heads of officers who were on patrol.

"[The parachuters] comes soaring right over the top of [the cop] car, so when he pulls up his parachute and starts running up the hill, [the officer] goes to chase him and one flies right over his head again!" said Jason Lowe, who witnessed the spectacle around 11:30 last night.

"[The officers] observed several people descending from the sky with parachutes and they ended up landing near their patrol car," said Officer Giselle Talkoff.

The alleged base jumpers literally hit the ground running.

"Everybody in the middle of the street was chasing this one guy with the parachute. If I was still on drugs, that would have made me quit!" quipped Lowe.

SFPD arrested 26-year-old Joshua Glovac of South San Francisco and 25-year-old Brendan Weinstein of San Francisco on felony conspiracy and misdemeanor trespassing charges.

"There were signs posted around the hotel that said no trespassing so that's why they were charged with the no trespassing," said Officer Talkoff.

The General Manager for the Hilton Hotel declined to comment, but KTVU has learned that an alarm sounded on the rooftop when the suspects prepared for their descent.

SFPD says it's dealt with people who've gone base jumping off the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, but never a building.

"This is the first incident that we've had so this is something that we're going to be looking out for and aware of," said Officer Talkoff.

Facebook pages for Weinstein and Glovac show them both base jumping and engaging in other extreme sports.

Police say a woman may have also participated in the base jump off the hotel but she got away.

Officers say while base jumping seems fun, it poses a threat to the public.

"It's definitely something that we advise the public don't try this. This is something that's very dangerous, jumping off buildings." said Ofcr. Talkoff. She stated that the suspects could have faced additional charges if any bystanders had been hurt.

Investigators will be looking at surveillance video from businesses along Jones Street, where the parachuters landed, as well as video from the suspects' Go Pro helmet cameras, which were confiscated when the the two were arrested.

Reporter Tara Moriarty was in contact with Weinstein who says his attorney advised him not to talk about the case.

Afterwards you could see investigators inside the hotel talking and possibly interviewing guests about what had just happened.

Hilton Tower is one of the tallest towers in the city. It stands at more than 46 stories, and 490 feet.