NEW YORK — Three extreme-skydiving enthusiasts showed ‘‘inexcusable self-indulgence’’ by parachuting off the 1 World Trade Center tower, a judge said Tuesday in declining to toss out the felony case against them.
The decision puts James Brady, Marko Markovich, Andrew Rossig, and their alleged lookout, Kyle Hartwell, on track for a January trial over the September 2013 stunt, which raised questions about security at one of the most protected sites in the country.
Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon saw the leap as ‘‘unsafe, reckless, and highly inappropriate behavior.’’
The jumpers’ ‘‘thrill-seeking conduct is nothing more than inexcusable self-indulgence’’ that created ‘‘a substantial risk of injury to any number of people,’’ even if no one was hurt, he wrote.
There were at least six cars on the road near where Brady landed, and Rossig kept a diary that makes plain the unpredictability of parachuting, Solomon wrote.
The parachutists acknowledge making the jump from the then-unfinished skyscraper, but they say that they didn’t imperil anyone. The four have pleaded not guilty to felony burglary, reckless endangerment, and other charges. The burglary charge involves being in a building illegally with an intention to commit another crime: breaking a city law against parachuting from skyscrapers.