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Teen Gets Federal Prison Time for Blasting Helicopter with Laser Pointer

by Matthew Zuras on October 26, 2010 at 02:50 PM

laser pointerA 19-year-old California resident was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison yesterday for aiming a laser pointer at a CHP helicopter, according to the Los Angeles Times. Nathan Ramon Wells was arrested last year for diverting the police aircraft as it was in the course of investigating a residential burglary. He pleaded guilty to the incident in September.

Flying at 700 feet, the pilots became distracted by a green light, and were forced to change course. They determined that the laser was coming from a moving car below, and police subsequently found the pointer inside when they stopped Wells's vehicle. After his prison term, he'll be placed on supervised release for three years. It is a tough sentence, but it's not like he shouldn't have known that pointing lasers at aircraft is a no-no.

Tags: crime, dumbcriminals, helicopter, laser, LaserPointer, NathanRamonWells, top

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