Man Arrested, Accused of Pointing Laser Beam at Sheriff’s Helicopter

Police arrested a La Mesa man early Saturday after they spotted him pointing a laser beam at a San Diego County Sheriffs Department helicopter.

Two deputies were flying over the community when one of them noticed a green beam shining on him at about 12:30 a.m., according to a Sheriffs news release.

Using an infrared camera, they spotted a man in an apartment complex in the 5300 block of Baltimore Avenue standing on the balcony and continuing to use the laser pointer.

The deputies sent La Mesa police in to contact the man, Fernando Arrollado, 34, who they say admitted to pointing the laser. They confiscated a 20-milliwatt laser pointer from the apartment.

Arrollado is being charged with five counts of pointing a laser at an aircraft.

They can be serious charges. A federal judge in the Los Angeles area sentenced a man to a 30 months in prison in March for pointing a laser at a police helicopter and a private plane, CNN reported.

The FAA helped press for the law making it illegal to do so. Pilots can be temporarily blinded by the laser devices, officials said. Thousands of incidents where aircraft have been targeted by beams have been reported since 2005, when only 300 were recorded.