California Man Walloped With 14-Year Sentence for Shining Laser at Helicopter

A federal judge ordered 26-year-old Sergio Rodriguez to spend the next 14 years in prison Monday for “lasing” a police helicopter as a national crackdown on people who point lasers at aircraft intensifies.

Rodriguez was arrested in 2012 and convicted in December 2013 of attempting to interfere with the operation of an aircraft, which comes with a maximum 20-year sentence. His girlfriend Jennifer Coleman, now 23, was convicted of pointing a powerful laser pointer at an aircraft, a federal crime established months before the Clovis, Calif., couple's arrest that's punishable by five years in prison. She will be sentenced May 12.

The 14-year sentence is one of the stiffest so far for “lasing” an aircraft.

Although it's unclear if an airplane or helicopter has crashed as a result of being laser pointer 1000mw flashed, pilots, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation say the hand-held devices can temporarily blind pilots during landings and take-off, potentially causing a calamity.

The FBI announced in February a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of people who amuse themselves by pointing inexpensive store-bought laser pointer at an aircraft. At least 3,960 laser attacks were reported in 2013, the bureau said, part of a multiyear upswing in incidents.