COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Talk about an expensive bet.
Two White Sox fans accused of rushing onto U.S. Cellular Field on a $500 bet during Thursday's game against the Mariners were each hit with $50,000 bail during a bond hearing Friday.
That means Bailey Smith and Peter Stahulak, both 21, will need $5,000 each (or 10 percent of the total bail amount) to post bond. The suburban men are charged with criminal trespass to a place of public amusement, a felony.
According to prosecutors, the duo ran on to the field about 10 p.m. Thursday. It was the top of the ninth inning, and players and an umpire were on the field, according to court papers.
Smith allegedly told arresting officers he knew it was illegal to be on the field, but he had been promised $500 for the stunt. Smith said, "It didn't matter, he just wanted the money," according to Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti, who spoke in court Thursday.
According to their public defender, Smith works in retail at Nordstrom, while Stahulak has a job at Men's Wearhouse. The suburban Downers Grove residents have no prior criminal history.
Bail was set by Cook County Judge James Brown at $50,000 each.
Smith and Stahulak weren't the only fans to storm U.S. Cellular Field, 333 W. 35th St., on Thursday.
According to prosecutors, Jose Beltran, 26, also rushed the field during the ninth inning. His motive wasn't immediately clear Friday, as he does not appear to be part of the alleged$500 dare that led Smith and Stahulak to interfere with Thursday's festivities.
Beltran, of suburban Hanover Park, is also charged with criminal trespass to a place of public amusement. He has a prior conviction for residential burglary and had bail set Friday at $75,000. He would need $7,500 to post bond.
White Sox reliever David Robertson, who was pitching in the 9th inning, told beat reporters after the game, “The first two guys, I said to myself, ‘OK, now they have it under control.’ The next guy kind of just got me angry.”
Bruce Levine of WSCR radio wrote that "the worn-out security officers had a heck of a time catching all three intruders."
"One [fan] in particular ran all the way across the field from the first-base line into the third-base stands without getting grabbed. A group of off-duty state policemen made the assist on the fan as he ran into the stands," Levine wrote.
The long-time baseball writer and broadcaster quoted Robertson saying, “I guess it made sense to the third guy to go on. [Security guards] were all tired after chasing the first two guys.”
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