A 13-year-old Florida boy is charged with a felony after allegedly pointing a laser at a sheriff’s division helicopter.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Workplace stated the helicopter was within the sky round 12:30 a.m. Thursday within the space of seventh Avenue Northwest and eleventh Avenue in Largo, when a inexperienced laser lighting system was pointed on the plane.
Deputies within the helicopter maintained a visible of the suspect and directed deputies on the bottom to the suspect’s location.
“Rise up and get any person on this gentleman. He is blinding our pilot,” a deputy within the helicopter is heard saying in video launched by the sheriff’s workplace.
Physique digicam video then exhibits deputies on the bottom finding the younger teen, who reportedly admitted to illuminating the helicopter with a laser lighting system. Deputies discovered a flare gun with a mounted inexperienced laser in his jacket.
Deputies stated {the teenager} informed them he deliberately aimed the laser on the helicopter as a result of he was bored.
When he was behind a squad automotive, the boy was heard telling deputies, “I did not realize it was a police helicopter.”
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The boy was arrested and charged with felony misuse of a laser lighting system. He was taken to the Pinellas County Juvenile Evaluation Heart.
Based on Florida statute, it’s a third-degree felony for any individual to knowingly and willfully shine, level or focus the beam of a laser lighting system on a person working a motorized vehicle, vessel or plane.
The incident stays below investigation.
