Prison Sentence For Calif. Man Who Flashed Laser Pointer At Plane, Damaging Pilot's Eyes
FRESNO (AP) -- Authorities say a Central California man has been sentenced to six months in prison for flashing a large laser pointer at a California Highway Patrol plane last year, briefly damaging the pilot's eyes.
The Fresno Bee reports Tuesday that 35-year-old Jeremy Scott Danielson of Clovis was also sentenced to three years of supervised release Monday.
Danielson pleaded guilty in March to flashing the patrol plane 18 to 20 times with a powerful green laser.
The pointer he used was the size of a flashlight and had a range of 6,000 feet. It is 40 times beyond the legal limit for a hand-held laser device
U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill says Danielson could have brought the CHP plane down by blinding the pilot.
Investigators say the laser pointer is also is capable of starting fires.
© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
