Crime & Safety

Los Alamitos Boy Arrested for Allegedly Pointing Laser at Helicopter

The arrest is the latest in a series of such incidents,

A 16-year-old Los Alamitos boy was arrested recently in the latest of a spate of arrests to crack down on people aiming laser pointers at planes and helicopters.

Because laser pointers put pilots and passengers in jeopardy, the penalty for pointing one at an aircraft is steep.  The crime is punishable by three years in state prison and a fine of $2,000 or up to 20 years in Federal prison. Each strike on an aircraft is considered a separate felony offense – whether the person turns the laser on and off or aims it elsewhere for a moment before returning the pointer to the aircraft, said Sgt. Morrie Zager, a helicopter pilot assigned to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Aero Bureau.

“If you do it, the likelihood of getting caught is extremely high,” said Zager.

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Since last year, the sheriff’s department has made arrests for 75 percent of the laser incidents, said Zager. The Sheriff’s Department has the ability to pinpoint the exact location of the laser source, he added.

It’s a common misconception that the laser pointer projects a simple red or green dot, he added. When the laser hits a helicopter’s windscreen, it engulfs the entire cockpit in a bright light.

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“It can cause a pilot to become so disoriented, they can lose control of the aircraft,” said Zager.

“The first time I got hit with one, I thought I had a (electric) short or got hit by lightening,” said Sgt. Robert Renteria, a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department pilot. “It was like an explosion.”

According to Zager, the sheriff’s helicopter pilots have been targeted by lasers six times in the past seven months. The most recent incident occurred on April 26, when Pico Rivera Sheriff's arrested a Los Alamitos boy after locating a car that had reportedly been pointing a laser at a Sheriff's helicopter.

Sheriff's officials also said that previous incidents have caused pilots to land, cancel landings or take evasive action.

Federal officials warn that laser beam-pointing incidents that jeopardize planes and people have nearly doubled across the nation--with LAX reporting more than 100 incidents and the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Base reporting 21 cases.

LAX reported more incidents than any other airport with 102 reports last year. In the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, 201 incidents were reported, with Ontario reporting 32, John Wayne Airport reporting 32, Burbank recording 31; Los Alamitos Joint Forces Base reporting 21; Van Nuys reporting 16, Long Beach reporting 15; Santa Monica reporting 11; and Torrance Airport reporting three incidents.

In 2009, a 37-year-old man from Orange was the first in the U.S. to be arrested and convicted for interfering with pilots by beaming lasers at planes. He received 2 1/2 years in prison.  

According to statistics from the Federal Aviation Administration, the number of total laser pointer incidents has increased from 1,527 in 2009 to 2,836 in 2010. Officials blame the increase on the increasing availability and affordability of high-powered laser pointers.

Patch Staff Contributed to this report.


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