TEMECULA – When a Sheriff’s Department helicopter was lit up several times by a handheld laser during a search, deputies sought and arrested two perpetrators.
On July 14 at approximately 10:00 pm, a Sheriff’s Department helicopter was assisting officers on the ground with an investigation. During the investigation, which was unrelated to this arrest, the helicopter was illuminated by a laser light from a nearby single-family residence. According to a press release, the helicopter was illuminated numerous times over the course of several minutes.
Pointing laser lights at the cockpits of aircraft is extremely dangerous and taken very seriously by authorities. The narrow beam of light discharged by a handheld laser expands at it travels, allowing it to light up the cockpit and impair navigation. It may even temporarily blind the pilot. USA Today states that the number of laser strikes against aircraft has climbed sharply in the last decade, reaching 3,960 incidents last year.
Abrahim Khan
According to Sergeant Marc Cloutier, deputies were able to quickly identify a residence at Musilek Pl. and Wolfe St. in Temecula and determine that is was the source of the laser light. Abrahim Khan, age 20 and Shaun Khan, age 18 were both arrested and booked into the Southwest Jail.
Intentionally discharging (aiming) a laser at an aircraft, a violation of California Penal Code section 247.5, is a serious crime that could result in calamity for the occupants of the aircraft.
The Riverside Sheriff’s Department aggressively and successfully investigates these incidents whenever reported as do all California law enforcement agencies. In February, the FBI began offering rewards up to $10,000 for information leading to the conviction of someone aiming a laser at a plane. In March Sergio Rodriguez, 26, of Clovis, was convicted of aiming a laser at a Fresno police helicopter. Rodriguez was convicted by a federal jury after a three-day and sentenced to 14 years in jail, proving that aiming lasers at aircraft is no joke.
Read More:
Press Enterprise: Laser pointed at helicopter prompts two arrests
CBSLA: 2 arrested for pointing laser
