18-year-old Arrested After Allegedly Throwing Sex Toy Into Crowd At Phoenix Mercury Game

An Arizona teen was arrested aft throwing a activity artifact into nan crowd astatine a Phoenix Mercury game, constabulary said, marking nan 4th clip specified a "stupid prank" has unfolded astatine a WNBA title successful nan past 2 weeks.

Kaden Lopez, 18, was booked on disorderly conduct, battle and nationalist show of definitive intersexual worldly aft he allegedly threw a greenish activity artifact toward seats successful beforehand of him astatine PHX Arena during Tuesday's crippled against nan Connecticut Sun, according to tribunal documents.

The entity deed a man and his 9-year-old niece, constabulary said. The incident was caught connected video that allegedly showed Lopez region nan entity from his sweater, propulsion it, past time off nan area, according to Maricopa County filings.

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He was tackled by a witnesser who held him connected nan crushed until constabulary arrived, nan documents said.

The man deed by nan artifact said he was watching nan crippled pinch his niece erstwhile he felt thing deed him successful nan backmost of nan caput and saw it onshore connected nan crushed adjacent to them.

Lopez told investigators he was “very sorry” and reasoned he was conscionable participating successful nan vulgar trend.

“It was conscionable a stupid prank that was trending connected societal media,” he told investigators, according to tribunal documents.

Lopez said he bought nan activity artifact nan time anterior and planned to return it to nan game. He said he didn’t intend to deed anyone aliases for nan entity to autumn adjacent to a child, tribunal documents said.

The man deed by nan object, nan WNBA and PHX Arena wanted to property charges.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said Thursday a Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner recovered nary probable origin for nan felony complaint but is recommending nan misdemeanor charges submitted to nan metropolis prosecutor.

Lopez was allowed to beryllium released connected nan conditions that barred from returning to nan arena and from having interaction pinch nan victims. He has a preliminary proceeding group for Aug. 25.

It's not instantly clear if he's retained an attorney.

"The information and well-being of everyone successful our arenas is simply a apical privilege for our league. Objects of immoderate benignant thrown onto nan tribunal aliases successful nan seating area tin airs a information consequence for players, crippled officials, and fans," a WNBA spokesperson said Thursday.

Any instrumentality who intentionally throws an entity onto nan tribunal will beryllium ejected and look a minimum one-year prohibition successful summation to being taxable to apprehension and prosecution, nan spokesperson said.

The apprehension marks nan latest successful a drawstring of object-throwing incidents astatine WNBA games.

On July 29, a instrumentality hurled a agleam greenish activity artifact connected nan floor astatine Gateway Center in College Park, Georgia, during nan Golden State Valkyries-Atlanta Dream game.

In that case, Carver Delbert, 23, was arrested and charged pinch disorderly conduct, nationalist indecency and criminal trespass.

He was arrested connected Aug. 1 astatine Gateway Center aft a information serviceman saw Delbert filming himself while throwing a activity artifact successful nan mediate of nan level 1 infinitesimal earlier nan Atlanta-Dream-Phoenix Mercury crippled was over, according to his apprehension report.

After he threw nan entity he tried to run, but was arrested.

He later told officers, “This was expected to beryllium a joke and this joke expected to spell viral,” apprehension documents said.

Delbert besides told serviceman he and his friends were astatine nan Atlanta Dream crippled connected July 29 and they threw a activity artifact successful nan mediate of nan crippled and fled nan scene. The charges are successful relationship pinch that incident.

Then, connected Friday, a akin incident happened during nan 3rd 4th of Golden State’s crippled against nan Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena successful Chicago.

Then connected Tuesday night, a instrumentality was hurled from nan stands and landed connected nan level of Crypto.com Arena during nan Indiana Fever-Los Angeles Sparks game, landing adjacent nan feet of Fever defender Sophie Cunningham.

“I deliberation it’s ridiculous. It’s dumb. It’s stupid,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts told reporters aft nan game. “It’s besides dangerous, and players’ information is No. 1. Respecting nan game. All those things. I deliberation it’s really stupid. That’s each I’m going to say.”