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Australia: Laser pointer suspect hides laser, self
A man has been arrested for allegedly pointing a laser at a police helicopter in Keysborough, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.
After the alleged incident, police searched a home on Amanda Court. They say they found the laser pointer hidden in a basket in the front yard of the house.
Police say that they entered the house and found a man hiding under a pile of clothes in the bedroom. He was arrested.
Police will charge the 44-year-old on summons with prejudicing the safe operation of an aircraft, interfering with crew or aircraft, reckless conduct endangering life, possessing a prohibited weapon, and assault police.
Australia: Man aims laser at police helicopter; laser found in freezer
Police went in through the unlocked back door and after a struggle, arrested a 43-year-old man. In the home's freezer, police found a laser pointer, as well as two imitation firearms elsewhere on the property.
The man is expected to be charged with endangering the safe operation of an aircraft, reckless conduct endangering life, possession of a prohibited weapon [the laser], assaulting police and resisting arrest.
From 7news.com.au
Australia: Two Melbourne men charged for aiming laser from car at police helicopter
A 20-year-old man from Preston was charged with interfering with conduct endangering life and possessing a prohibited weapon. An 18-year-old man from Coburg will be charged on summons with possessing a prohibited weapon. The other two men were released without charges.
From ABC News
Australia: UPDATED - Video shows Sept. arrest of Hampton Park man given AUD $3500 fine
The pilot was flashblinded so that he had to fly on instruments only. He called ground officers, and Nguyen was arrested within 30 minutes.
On November 24 2011 Nguyen pleaded guilty to interfering with an aircraft crew member, and to possessing and importing a prohibited weapon into Victoria. Prosecutors asked for a jail term of up to the maximum two years. Nguyen’s lawyer said his client was sorry: “You won’t get more genuine remorse … this was a spontaneous act of stupidity…”. The judge said Nguyen had good character and had not understood the consequences of his actions. He fined Nguyen AUD $2000 and he was ordered to donate another $1500 to charity.
Nguyen’s laser was said to be “60 times more powerful than the allowable limit.” (In Victoria, pointers over 1 mW are banned, so the laser must have been 60 mW.)
From the Herald Sun. The original story of Nguyen’s arrest in September was covered here by LaserPointerSafety.com.
UPDATED February 28 2012: Nguyen lost a February 27 appeal on the charge of interfering with the crew or the aircraft. At the hearing, his lawyer said Nguyen’s drunken actions were “spontaneous and stupid” and he had never intended to deliberately shine the laser into the cockpit. Two character witnesses testified on Nguyen’s behalf. However, the appeals judge was amazed that a “smart, talented and highly regarded person could commit acts with such potential for disaster.” The judge noted there were “unthinkable consequences” from the September 3 2011 lasing, and he was therefore obligated to convict Nguyen due to the seriousness of the incident. From The Age.
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Australia: Man aims at police helicopter, could be jailed for 2 years (UPDATED)
A Victoria Police spokesman said Melbourne has the highest number of incidents involving laser light, and “these incidents are occurring far too frequently….”
From The Age, Herald Sun and ABC News
UPDATE November 24 2011: Tam Nguyen pleaded guilty on November 24 2011. He was fined a total of AUD $3500. Details are in this LaserPointerSafety.com story.