malq
September 10th, 2009, 12:56 AM
A Roseville man will spend years in federal prison for shining a laser pointer at a police helicopter last spring.
http://i27.tinypic.com/a5bx5h.jpg
Balltazar Valladares, 30, pleaded guilty in June to shining a high-powered green laser at a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department helicopter on March 16, 2009. The helicopter was searching for a suspect who had shined a green laser at a Southwest Airlines flight that was landing at the Sacramento International Airport two hours earlier.
The helicopter crew reported that the laser was aimed at them long enough for them to fly over Valladares' house and identify his residence.
"I happened to get hit right in the eye, so I had some temporary blindness in my right eye," said pilot Jeff Werblun after the March incident. "We were probably about two miles away from the house where it occurred at, and we tracked the beam to the house."
Roseville police searched Valladares' home and found the laser hidden in two pieces in his home. The Department of Justice said the laser was seven times more powerful than the standards published by the Food and Drug Administration, and was capable of blinding those that look at it.
Valladares was sentenced to three years and one month in prison and three years of supervised release for interfering with the safe operation of an aircraft.
U.S. Attorney Lawrence Brown praised the sentence on Tuesday, calling it a message to anyone else who might be tempted to shine high-powered lasers at aircraft.
"These years in federal prison should give anyone pause when contemplating as reckless an act as potentially blinding a pilot who is operating an aircraft," Brown said in a statement.
Authorities say pointing lasers at aircraft is extremely dangerous, and the pilot who was targeted by Valladares said the incidents happen often in the Sacramento area.
"My partner and I get hit about twice a week," Weblun said. "When it hits the window of the [helicopter], not only does the Plexiglass window magnify the beam, but it refracts it. You have a beam that may just be small in diameter, but now it illuminates the entire cockpit and it not only takes away your night vision but it can potentially damage your eyes."
http://cbs13.com/local/laser.pointer.sentence.2.1171184.html
http://i27.tinypic.com/a5bx5h.jpg
Balltazar Valladares, 30, pleaded guilty in June to shining a high-powered green laser at a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department helicopter on March 16, 2009. The helicopter was searching for a suspect who had shined a green laser at a Southwest Airlines flight that was landing at the Sacramento International Airport two hours earlier.
The helicopter crew reported that the laser was aimed at them long enough for them to fly over Valladares' house and identify his residence.
"I happened to get hit right in the eye, so I had some temporary blindness in my right eye," said pilot Jeff Werblun after the March incident. "We were probably about two miles away from the house where it occurred at, and we tracked the beam to the house."
Roseville police searched Valladares' home and found the laser hidden in two pieces in his home. The Department of Justice said the laser was seven times more powerful than the standards published by the Food and Drug Administration, and was capable of blinding those that look at it.
Valladares was sentenced to three years and one month in prison and three years of supervised release for interfering with the safe operation of an aircraft.
U.S. Attorney Lawrence Brown praised the sentence on Tuesday, calling it a message to anyone else who might be tempted to shine high-powered lasers at aircraft.
"These years in federal prison should give anyone pause when contemplating as reckless an act as potentially blinding a pilot who is operating an aircraft," Brown said in a statement.
Authorities say pointing lasers at aircraft is extremely dangerous, and the pilot who was targeted by Valladares said the incidents happen often in the Sacramento area.
"My partner and I get hit about twice a week," Weblun said. "When it hits the window of the [helicopter], not only does the Plexiglass window magnify the beam, but it refracts it. You have a beam that may just be small in diameter, but now it illuminates the entire cockpit and it not only takes away your night vision but it can potentially damage your eyes."
http://cbs13.com/local/laser.pointer.sentence.2.1171184.html