Fans seeking photos with Braves’ Ronald Acuna charged with trespassing, disturbing peace

Two fans who charged onto Coors Field seeking photos with Atlanta Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., leading to Acuna falling to the ground, have been charged with trespassing and disturbing the peace, Denver Police officials said on Tuesday.

Both men — Jefferson Gonzales-Merida, 23, and Carlos Rivelo Paiz, 21 — were arrested and jailed following the incident Monday night as the Braves played the Rockies. Nobody was injured and the men, from Denver, have been released pending appearances in court next month, according to police documents. Trespassing and disturbing the peace typically are treated as petty offenses but carry fines.

A juvenile male also briefly went onto the field without permission and then turned back to the stands, where he, too, was caught by Coors Field staffers and cited for trespassing, police said.

“Further charges will not be pursued in this matter,” police said in a statement emailed to the Denver Post.

It was the second time in five months that bold fan behavior disrupted baseball at Coors Field in downtown Denver. In April, a man bolted down from the stands and tackled Dinger, the Rockies’ mascot — a person inside a triceratops costume. Denver police investigators looked into possible assault charges in that incident and the man responsible turned himself in.

Colorado Rockies officials on Tuesday did not respond to queries.

The Atlanta Braves won the game, 14-4, due in part to Acuna’s performance: he hit two home runs, stole two bases, and scored four runs. He’s a favorite among oddsmakers to win the National League most valuable player award this year and is one home run away from becoming the first player in league history to hit 30 homers and steal 60 bases in a season.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, one of the men, with a phone out, approached Acuna in right field, hugged him, and tried to take a selfie photo with him. Security guards rushed to pull him away. The second man ran in and Acuna fell to the ground. Braves players ran to help him.

And Acuna was quoted as saying the only thing that matters is that nobody was hurt.

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