Posted on 04/01/2014 1:43:43 PM PDT by PaulCruz2016
A federal judge ordered 26-year-old Sergio Rodriguez to spend the next 14 years in prison Monday for “lasing” a police helicopter as a national crackdown on people who point lasers at aircraft intensifies.
Rodriguez was arrested in 2012 and convicted in December 2013 of attempting to interfere with the operation of an aircraft, which comes with a maximum 20-year sentence. His girlfriend Jennifer Coleman, now 23, was convicted of pointing a laser at an aircraft, a federal crime established months before the Clovis, Calif., couple’s arrest that’s punishable by five years in prison. She will be sentenced May 12.
The 14-year sentence is one of the stiffest so far for “lasing” an aircraft.
Although it’s unclear if an airplane or helicopter has crashed as a result of being laser-flashed, pilots, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation say the hand-held devices can temporarily blind pilots during landings and take-off, potentially causing a calamity.
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
How do they catch people doing that?
Good.
My guess, is that they would arm the aircraft with a high powered camera. Camera catches the perp in the act.
Police arrest later.
It would almost have to be that a cop saw the guy doing it.
“stool pigeons”
It's a much-better article, but I could not post it.
Either that or the perp’s friends are not nearly as impressed as he thought they would be and they rat him out.
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I was hit with a laser from a passing car about 15 years ago..at night.
I immediately developed an ocular migraine the type of which Ive been plagued with on an off for several years.
http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/guide/ocular-migraine-basics
Is there any information regarding exactly what the device was? They used “pointed” and “pointing” a lot in their story, but don’t say Pointer. Instead they say hand held device.
“...3,960 laser attacks ...2013”
That’s an awful lot of stupid.
So he’s an idiot. Which is understandable, in this case at least the price of idiocy went up. But I still wonder how they’d catch someone who was a little smarter about how they went about it. This guy reminds me of the kid I knew in 4th grade who got busted for making obscene phone calls - from his home phone.
I’m never understood the type of people who do stuff like this.
“stool pigeons”
In the article referenced in number 7 by PaulCruz2016, there’s a new rewards program beg8un in Feb. that offers a $10,000 reward for stool pigeons.
It was a neighbor who ratted them out.
It would almost have to be that a cop saw the guy doing it.
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It was a police helo according to the article... probably just out illegally searching peoples houses for hotspots in order to get a “growhouse” warrant...
My question is .. if this is effective what equipment works best to harass a low level helo? power levels? strobe or continuous?
I BET HE DON’T DO THAT AGAIN................
The State of California should now charge those two for multiple counts of attempted second degree murder and reckless endangerment.
THEY DID..............
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