California man who lasered two helicopters to face 14 years behind bars
Earlier this month, a Fresno man received what is believed to be the strongest sentence issued anywhere in the United States for firing a laser pointer at an aircraft—14 years in prison. His girlfriend was also convicted on similar charges, but she will not be sentenced until May 2014.
“To our knowledge, it is the largest sentence imposed in this type of case,” Karen Escobar, the assistant US attorney for the Eastern District of California, told Ars.
According to the criminal complaint, on a warm summer evening in late August 2012, Sergio Rodriguez took his green laser pointer and fired it at a passing helicopter from outside of his apartment. His apartment complex sat just about a half mile north of the west end of the Fresno Yosemite International Airport in one of the Central Valley’s largest cities.
