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Astounding moron Sergio Rodriguez got slapped with a 14-year prison sentence earlier this month, convicted of aiming a laser pointer at an emergency medical helicopter taking a young patient to Children's Hospital of Central California. Remember folks, trying to blind pilots midair is a very, very bad idea.
The criminal complaint against Rodriguez, obtained by Ars Technica, says Rodriguez blasted "Air George," the emergency transport helicopter serving Children's Hospital of Central California, as it was carrying a child patient to the Fresno hospital one night in August 2012. Air George radioed air traffic control, who mobilized a police helicopter to locate the laser.
That wasn't enough for Rodriguez. He blasted the police helicopter seven times as it circled his location.
Luckily, none of the pilots Rodriguez lasered were blinded, and the police helicopter helped officers from the nearby town of Clovis locate and arrest Rodriguez and his girlfriend Jennifer Coleman, who also tried blasting the helicopters at Rodriguez's encouragement.
Rodriguez's sentence is so far the harshest given to anyone for aiming a laser at a pilot—previous sentences measured around 18 months. Rodriguez's long rap sheet, including multiple DUIs and a 2012 burglary, probably contributed to his sentence. Coleman has been convicted, and will be sentenced in May.
Just so we're clear, zapping pilots midair with lasers is an incredibly, psychotically stupid idea. Unfortunately, it's popping into the minds of an increasing number of idiots: nearly 4,000 incidents were reported in 2013, up more than ten-fold since 2005. The FBI now offers a $10,000 reward for reporting laser morons, and a national task force searches out perpetrators of this federal crime.
Luckily, when turds decide to shoot lasers at helicopters, the cops can often find them with shocking swiftness. Those laser pointers work nicely as moron beacons.
The feds can track your air-menacing ass from the sky—provided you haven't blinded them yet, of course.
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It happens very quickly. The chopper pilots get the equivalent of a flashlight to the face from the tiny presentation laser on the ground, and call in for help. I can only imagine what the effect would have been from some of the more, ahem, shockingly powerful lasers available. Luckily, the cops have infrared eyes in the sky, and can follow the green point in the distance to a real dude on the ground. Is he wearing a bathrobe? It's hard to tell. Soon enough, he's swarmed by cops and arrested. All in good fun, right? Nope—risking the lives of a pilot, whether it's an airliner or little chopper, is a felony. Photon jerks like this risk up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. And you probably don't want to have to answer the So, what are you in for? question after getting thrown for laser mischief.
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