NEW YORK (CNN) — A judge in California has sent a strong message to anyone who thinks that pointing lasers at aircraft is just harmless fun ‘n’ games.
U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson sentenced a 19-year-old man on Monday to 30 months in federal prison for shining a laser pointer at a plane and police helicopter, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case.
Adam Gardenhire deliberately pointed the commercial grade green laser at a private Cessna Citation that was landing at the Burbank Bob Hope Airport in California on March 29, 2012.
Gardenhire, of North Hollywood, California, was arrested and pleaded guilty in the incident as part of an agreement with prosecutors in October.
The pilot of the corporate jet was hit in the eye multiple times and had vision problems through the next day, court documents say.
Later, a helicopter sent by the Pasadena Police Department to investigate the incident also was again hit by a laser, but the pilot had protective equipment and was not injured.
