A California man who shined a high-powered handheld laser at a police helicopter because he says he was “bored” will spend the next two years staving off boredom inside a federal prison cell.
Brett Scott, 26, of Buttonwillow, California, accepted a plea deal from prosecutors after admitting he fired two lasers at a Kern County Sheriff’s Department helicopter over a six-month period last year. It is just the latest among dozens of laser convictions handed down in recent months.
The FAA and FBI have been cracking down on perpetrators who shine lasers at aircraft in flight. Since the FBI began keeping track of such incidents in 2005, there have been more than 17,000 laser strikes — nearly 4,000 in 2013 alone. During the first three months of 2014, the FBI reported an average of 9.5 laser incidents a day.
Unlike small and relatively harmless handheld laser pointers used in classroom and seminar settings, the new breed of handheld laser has the potential of burning a pilot’s corneas and can even start fires and melt plastic at closer range.
To counter the growing threat posed by laser criminals, the FBI has started offering $10,000 rewards to anyone who helps catch them.
The penalties, if a laser user is convicted, can be severe. A Fresno man in May received the harshest penalty yet — 14 years in prison — for firing his green laser at an air ambulance helicopter carrying a young patient and medical crew.
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